Hidden scars, silent tears
by Sapphos-Daughter
Summary: When Roy Mustang came back from Ishbal, it wasn't alone. Now years later, he brings his adopted sister to Central. Things just got very interesting...
1. Letters and problems from home

Author's notes: Thanks to Turtlequeen2 once again for all of her help. Rosette is my character. The plot also belongs to me, everything else belongs to the orginal creators. Feel free to let me know what you think and enjoy!

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It was a nice day in Central, the birds were chirping around the main military building, military personnel were doing their normal duties, and the Colonel was grumbling about his paperwork. The black haired man was trying to fly through his paperwork so he wouldn't be late for his late with one of his many women he met in the city.

Hawkeye sharply knocked on the door. "Sir, you've got mail for once."

The Colonel, Roy Mustang, looked up from his paper and raised his eyebrow. "Mail? From who?" he inquired.

"Your sister sir." Was the surprising reply.

"Rosette?" he asked. "Very well then," he started," A break would be much needed I guess..." he finished in a sigh.

Hawkeye handed him the envelope and waited expectantly, one eyebrow raised in question.

His gave a slight nod and responded "You are dismissed Lieutenant Hawkeye."

She sighed and started towards the door.

He added," Thank you," in a gentler tone that only she had the privilege to hear within the military.

"Your welcome." She replied, then left the room.

The man heaved a slight sigh and began to open the parchment.

The handwriting was very neat, even if it wasn't exactly straight.

_Roy,_

_Hey big brother, how's life in the military? I know this is a bit sudden, but can you please either come home for a visit or please let me stay with you in Central? Our parents are absolutely driving me mad._

_If I hear that alchemy vs. writing speech one more time, you are seriously going to have to bail me out of jail. They still think that my passion with writing is just a phase! You might have talked to them about it, but that only lasted maybe a week. _

_Why is it that you accept me for who I am, but they absolutely refuse to do so? You and I are nearly exact opposites, but you still seem to love me anyways._

_Besides, I miss you! You haven't written me in months! What happened to your promise to keep in touch!_

_Please write back this time?_

_Your loving sister,_

_Rosette_

Roy heaved another sigh. "Why can't she understand that the military does not allow for much free time..." he trailed off. "She must be really having trouble over there..." he added.

He decided to write back to her, hoping to prevent violence between their parents and herself. Pulling out a blank sheet of paper and a pen, Roy began to scribble back a response:

_Rosette, _

_I see that our parents are giving you more trouble about your love of writing. It is quite a dilemma that they don't understand that different people have different talents. You with your writing and me with my Alchemy._

_Honestly, I would prefer that you wouldn't delve so much into military Alchemy, if any Alchemy at all. We both know how dangerous it can become._

_So, besides our parents, are there any other people bothering you? You know how I would just love to flame them alive. _

Roy stopped writing for a few seconds to smirk at the memory of others who dared to so much as _look_ at his sister in the wrong way. They had ended up charred.

_As for me not being able to write, I am truly sorry for not writing sooner. It is getting very busy here in Central since there are civil wars, and other mishaps occurring on a day to day basis._

_I know how you must feel about trying to get away from them, but please have patience. It is dangerous here and I would like it if you could try to keep your feelings at bay. Remember, I still have many enemies and I do not you to get caught in the crossfire. As your older brother, I do not want to see you get hurt._

_I'm sure you have heard of a man named Scar. He is notorious for killing many State Alchemists here. Though you are not one, it is still a thing to consider upon making sure you are safe._

_Meanwhile, I did take the liberty of reading the notebook of poetry that you sent me. It was marvelous and I thank you for letting me read your work. It allowed me to take my mind off of military troubles for the while. _

_I would like to write to you for a longer time, but I'm afraid that my work calls to me. I hope that you can hold out for a while longer. _

_Love from your dearest brother,_

_Roy_

A few days later, the phone rang in Mustang's office.

Roy picked it up. "This is Colonel Roy Mustang." He said in a firm military tone.

"Hi Roy." Rosette said in a sweet voice, the voice that said 'I-need-you-to-flame-someone-for-me'.

His face immediately took on a more worried look. "What is it Rose?" he asked, in a gentler tone.

"Do you remember my ex?"

His expression darkened quickly. "Yes. What does this have to do with anything?" he demanded.

"He snuck in my room last night. I found him _naked _in my bed."

"What!" he practically yelled into the phone.

"Yeah, he decided he was gonna get some..."

"Are you ok?" he asked alarmed, thinking of the worst thing.

"I'm okay, but I don't think I've ever moved so fast in my life. I didn't realize he was in my room until I was halfway in bed. Our parents think this is very amusing..."

"Did they arrange this?" he almost snarled.

"They weren't mad about it, no." She growled.

"What the hell..." he trailed off, clearly angry. His fist slammed down on his desk in fury. He felt the strong urge to flame something or some_one_ for that matter...

"That's what I'd like to know. I just called to ask how long you would like me to keep him in sight until you flame him." Rosette sounded as mad as he felt.

"I wish that I could go over there now and do that," he growled. He then heaved a sigh," But with these military issues, I can't take time off to do such."

"Want me to bring him to you, dearest brother?" She asked sweetly.

He let out a small chuckle. "How would you manage to do that?"

"It's like 'Mary had a little lamb', everywhere I go, he follows."

He gave a slight smirk. 'It seems that she is having trouble down there. There's still no possible way that I can manage to watch over her at the same time doing my other duties...' he thought in his mind.

"I can always hang out in the public library during the day. It's not like I'll be bored Roy." After a minute she added another reason. "Besides, I hear that there's a few good publishers in Central."

"You still need to be watched. I don't even think I would be able to spend much time with you with all the things going on here," he explained.

"Then just give me the key to your place, I'll bunk out on the couch. You forget, I'm a big girl now brother."

"Eh?" he stuttered out. His sister was the only one who evoked confusion out of him so often.

"Roy, we're family, not dating. I do know that your footloose and fancy-free. You've got a lot of lady friends, I figured that out a while back. I'll get a job while I'm up there."

"You do realize that there are serial killers out here don't you?" he asked bluntly. "Not to mention creatures who are not human..."

"So I'll keep my head down and stay quiet. They wouldn't be after me. I don't use or study Alchemy."

He heaved a sigh. Roy knew that she was just as stubborn as he was or even more so.

"Besides, isn't this hassle worth charring that Romeo wannabe?" She asked archly.

He let out a laugh. "This would be what some would call a bribe is it not?" he asked.

"I wouldn't call it that, You want him gone, and so do I."

"Very true..." Roy said slowly

"Besides, I'm sick of his bragging..."

"Bragging?" he echoed in question.

"He's been telling his friends that he got a handful. Mainly on my chest!"

"WHAT!" he raged, his eyes narrowed.

"I admit, he grabbed me before I got away... But nothing else happened, I swear!"

"That's not the point! He has the gull to talk about you like that!" he yelled.

"How do you think I feel! I'm not a whore!"

Roy took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He knew that if he continued to shout, someone was going to barge into his office to demand if he was doing fine. "No you're not one," he said in a slightly calm tone.

Rosette sounded calmer now. "Thanks Roy..."

"Alright, you win," he replied. "I do miss our interactions ..."

"I miss them too, You're the only one interested in my writing!"

"Well, it's not as if you had many for me to read yet anyways..." he trailed off in a smirk.

"You'd be surprised. I'm currently juggling three books as well as four more notebooks of poetry." She grinned happily.

"I'm sure you'll be able to get your works published here."

"That's what I'm hoping for Roy, more than you know."

I'll send tickets as soon as I'm able. Just stay out of trouble until then..." he laughed.

"I'll try to refrain from using the flying pan." Rosette promised with a laugh.

Roy winced, knowing all too well what happens when she gets violent.

"Will you be sending an escort along with those tickets?" Rosette asked, serious again.

A small smirk formed on his face. "I think I can manage that..."

"Please and thank you brother. Otherwise I _will_ be using a frying pan once I get him there..."

'Mental note. Escorts are a must!' Roy thought grimly. "Please refrain from being thrown in jail..."

"I'll do my best" She said too sweetly. "Love you."

He stifled another sigh. Nevertheless, he answered, "Love you too. I'm working on those tickets. Don't worry..."

A click signaled that she had hung up.

He hung his end of the line, rolling his eyes, though he knew that it was very unlike him.

It was only two days later that a quite short, blonde-haired teen knocked on the huge doors of his commanding officer. He looked back at his brother and muttered "I wonder what the hell Mustang wants now..."

Al clanked alongside his brother. "It sounded important brother."

The teen heaved a sigh. He always hated to have to meet with the man behind the doors, but the serious tone in his voice told him that it was urgent. Maybe if this was a job, he could get more information on the Philosopher's Stone at the same time.

Al shifted slightly, hoping his brother would keep his temper this time.

"You two can come in now," came the Colonel's voice from the other side.

Ed's younger brother found himself grateful for the armor that gave nothing away as Ed opened the door and they went inside.

"So what did you call us out here for Colonel?" Ed asked bluntly, wanting to staying in Roy's office as little as possible.

Had Al had a tongue, he would have bitten it, and was wondering if he ought to be renting a bed in the hospital for his brother...

Roy stared at the pint-sized alchemist with a "bastard smirk" in place. "I have a job for you Fullmetal," he stated simply.

Silence was wise, so Al didn't speak this time.

"Job?" Ed questioned with his eyebrow raised.

"What kind of job sir?" Al asked politely, hoping to save his brother from the Colonel's sharp tongue.

"I would like you to be an escort," Roy replied, his smirk still in place.

"For who?" Al asked, cutting his brother off.

"My sister." Came the surprising reply.

Ed threw a glare at his brother. He then gaped at the Colonel and before he could stop himself, he snorted out, "You mean there's more of your kind of people!"

"How will we know her when we see her sir?" Al asked nervously.

"She's not that hard to miss." He explained with a small smile. "She travels by wheelchair and has fiery red hair. Not to mention the stacks of books she may carry with her."

"Does she study Alchemy?" Al wondered out loud.

Roy's smirk disappeared at the question. His hard look was placed back onto his face once again. "No, she does not practice Alchemy."

"Why the hell would you want her to come to Central when she isn't even an Alchemist?" Ed asked.

Roy's eyes narrowed. "I have my own reasons Fullmetal," he explained, trying to suppress his anger at the young man's sarcastic remarks.

Al inwardly gulped, thinking about edging for the door.

Ed's eyes narrowed back, not fully understanding what the Colonel was so uptight about. Nevertheless, he knew not to press the matter further.

"When will we leave sir? Is she expecting us?" The younger brother tried to change the subject.

Ed suddenly smirked. "Ok, as long as we agree to do this, what will Al and I get in exchange?"

"Ed..." Al warned quietly sensing that the colonel wasn't in a good mood.

"How about you don't get court-martialed in exchange for doing this favor?" Mustang replied smugly.

"I think I'd agree to that." Came the younger brother's nervous answer.

Edward looked over at his brother and held in a cringe himself. However, he didn't fail to hear the Colonel's words of "favor" so it was not under military priority.

"Under what grounds Colonel?" Ed pressed. "You stated yourself that it was a favor for you, not military orders."

Roy's glare was fixed on Ed, knowing that the boy was right.

_'Don't push it brother... this is something that he really wants…_' Al thought as he noticed the intensity in Mustang's eyes.

The Colonel heaved a sigh. "Ok... you win Fullmetal. I got some information you might find interest in..."

Al would have raised his eyebrows if he wasn't in a suit of armor. 'He gave in too easily...'

Ed didn't expect the Colonel to give up that easily. Something was up but he would eventually figure that out on his own. However, he couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "Really now?"

Roy held in the urge to roll his eyes as he drew his serious face on once again. "I've reports about strange things going on in a small town not far from here…"

"What kind of strange things sir? Do you have any details?"

"There have been reports of a healer in that area who fixes many wounds with the use of Alchemy."

Ed cast a look at Al and said, "Al, do you think..." he trailed off in thought, thinking about Marco, the doctor who made red stones.

"It could be, we won't know until we check it out. Sir, is your sister near that city?"

"You are picking her up at the Central train station. The town should be near there." Mustang explained.

"I see... you're trying to protect her."

He gave a slight nod then Roy's eyes got a stern look. "She's been through enough. I don't want her tempted to do something she'll regret."

Al nodded. "I understand sir. She's lucky to have you for a brother."

"Thank you Alphonse," Roy replied honestly.

Ed didn't know what he could say to that. He had no idea that he had a sister to begin with. It was like seeing a completely different side to him!

"Will there be someone with her when we get there, or will she be alone?" Al asked, deciding to change the subject.

A small smirk crossed his face. The expression they both knew all too well. "As a matter of fact, yes. A stubborn suitor of hers. Someone whom you should pay little attention to."

Ed held in a wince. He knew that he meant that he would possibly flame the poor guy. _'I feel sorry for Roy's sister for putting up with the bastard..._' he trailed off.

Al laughed. "A reluctant one, or one who doesn't know what 'No' means?"

Edward glanced at his brother strangely. Since when would he know about things like that?

_'It's common sense Ed. Why else would she bring someone to him? If he was just reluctant, she would handle it on her own.' _He sent to his brother.

Ed glared at his brother as he heard his thoughts. '_Since when are you so condescending to your older brother?'_ he sent back.

Roy's smirk almost broke into a smile, but he had to contain himself.

"Is there anything else we should know sir?" Al asked out loud.

'_You're trying to ignore me now…_' Ed sent, rolling his eyes.

"However, there are a few things I'd like to state," Roy said sternly.

Al mentally braced himself for this.

Ed raised his eyebrow. Why did he get the feeling he was not going to like what he had to say?

_'Your not. Mustang's in 'big brother' mode.'_ Al sent.

_'I'm sure I'm not gonna like this.…'_ Ed added.

Roy leaned forward with narrowed eyes. "Both of you shall act like gentlemen. You are to protect her with your lives. If anything should happen to her, I will not hesitate to flame you alive." He held up his gloved hand for emphasis. "Oh and another thing. Do _not_ talk about Alchemy in her presence. Do I make myself clear?"

Ed gulped. It was rare when the Colonel was this serious. Though he was in perplexity. "How in the hell are we supposed not to talk about Alchemy if we are investigating a town?"

Al snapped to attention, trembling slightly.

"I would suggest taking her to some location other than the place that the healer is located at. Perhaps a bookstore…" he suggested.

_'If we get on her good side, perhaps we'll be able to get on the colonel's too Ed.' _His brother added.

'_He has a good side?_' he replied sarcastically.

'_I've never seen him so protective of anyone before.'_ Al pointed out.

"You'll have no problem of getting her into a bookstore. However, I wish you luck on trying to get her out of one..." Mustang smirked.

Al laughed. "Oh my..."

'_Oh great a book otaku...like Winry and her mechanic stores I'd imagine…_' Ed grumbled in his mind.

'_It might not be so bad brother._' Came the cheerful answer.

'_Say that to my military fund…_' Ed replied sourly.

'_She might have her own money._' Then he looked at Mustang, "Sir, how many books can she come out with?" Al asked.

"Her expenses will be paid by me. Don't worry about that. I'll send her money," Roy explained.

"I take it you have experience with your sister's craziness in a book store?"

"Much." Roy answered with a painful expression on his face.

Al laughed, "You going to be very hard pressed to keep her out of the library here, you know that?"

Roy heaved a sigh. He never thought about that. Then again, that was his intent wasn't it? To keep her out of harm's way.

"Is that all sir?" Al asked.

"I'll just introduce her to Sheska," He murmured. Then he looked up to two boys. "That is all. You are dismissed."

Al left in silence, thinking all the while.

Ed followed after his brother. _'Let's hope that Mustang's sister is not as bad as him...'_


	2. Meetings and unhealed scars

Author's note: I'm sorry for the long wait everyone, Turtlequeen2's computer broke down and it took her almost a month to get it fixed again, but I think that this chapter is well worth the wait! The "thoughts" shared between the Elric brothers were done specifically for this story and we know that it's not technically correct. We thought it was appropriate since they are "bonded" by Ed's blood seal inside Al's armor. Please review and let us know what you think!

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Al looked out of the train's window at the fast moving landscape that seemed to fly past them. "Brother?" 

Ed glanced at his brother with a raised eyebrow. "What?" he asked calmly.

"Are you nervous?" He asked, turning his head so that he could see his older brother's expression.

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Why would I be nervous?" he instead replied, not wanting to admit it.

"Well, we have no idea what she's like, and Mustang sounded very protective of her." Al pointed out.

'_Or the fact that she could be the female version of Mustang…_' his brother thought bitterly.

"I've never seen him act that way before..." The younger Elric brother's voice trailed off slowly.

Ed agreed with his brother. "Yea, you're right. He acted almost...fatherly or something..."

"He acted a lot like you really." Al said thoughtfully.

"Me!" Ed almost exclaimed. "How the hell do I act like **HIM**?" The blonde didn't take keen on being compared to the Colonel.

"The colonel seemed very protective of her, he put her first, regardless of how you felt."

The young teen calmed down slightly as he heard this. "I guess..." he mumbled.

"I think he asked us to do this because he knows we are the best. He didn't want her _anywhere_ near this so-called healer." Al continued.

The State Alchemist thought back to the look on the Colonel's face, remembering it to be one he's never seen before. "I wonder what happened to her..." he trailed off.

"I'm more concerned about that suitor of hers..."

"True..." the boy smirked in response. He wouldn't admit how worried he was worried about them. Ed knew that Roy's wrath would be worse than merely bad if they stepped out of line this time.

"She sounds like she can handle herself though... I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Yea..." The reply was thoughtful, almost introspective.

About two hours later the train stopped. "I think we're here." Al said.

Ed gave a short nod, his tension building up.

Standing, Al nodded. "What time is the next train?"

The Fullmetal Alchemist replied, "It's in a few hours so we don't have very long."

"Okay then." Quickly, the younger brother picked up the heavy trunk. "Ready?"

"Yep," the other replied.

Al quickly led the way off the train. "Do you see them?"

"...No, not yet..." Ed trailed off in concentration. He scanned the area, finding it sparsely packed with townspeople. It was hard for him to see over the heads.

A girl with coarsely chopped red-gold hair carefully rolled though the crowd. Her arms were more muscular than the rest of her body, a young man walked by her side dragging a heavy trunk as he went.

Ed raised his eyebrow at the peculiar sight. "You think that's Mustang's sister?" he asked Alphonse.

"There's only one way to find out." Al answered and started to walk over to them.

"Ms. Mustang-san?" Alphonse asked politely when he reached them.

The girl looked up. "Yes. Alphonse Elric?" She said politely. Her gray eyes were calm in the delicately boned face.

"Yes. ma'am. Ed, I found them!" He called.

Edward walked up beside his brother and looked at the two of the people. "I take it that your Colonel Mustang's sister right?" he asked, looking at the woman.

"Yes, my name is Rosette Edward." She replied.

The man beside the woman gave a smirk as he began, "Aren't you going to introduce me? You must learn better manners before we are wed. It's more befitting of a lady don't you think?"

Rosette felt her jaw clench, but otherwise complied without an argument. "Ronald, these are the Elric brothers. Roy told me that they were the best."

"Oh really now?" Ronald smirked, looking at the two boys.

'_Ed, I don't like him._' Al thought quickly to his brother.

Ed kept his face serious as he mentally replied, '_Yea, I agree. He seems like a jackass. No wonder Roy wants to probably flame him.._'

_'Look at her jaw. I'll bet you anything that she doesn't love him. If she's not careful, and breaks her teeth Mustang will kill us._' He added.

'_Agreed. Maybe we should create a diversion?_'

_'Agreed, who do you want to take?_' Al asked

'_I can take Mustang's sister._' Ed suggested.

'_That might be wise, this armor hides a lot of things_.' Al agreed

'_Alright then. So what to do now?_' he mentally asked, looking around.

'_Be a gentleman and ask if she'd like to get some water while I pretend to check the train times._' Came the suggestion

'_Ok, I can mange that..._'

The blonde looked at the woman and suggested. "Since the train ride might take some time, you want me to take you get some water?"

Rosette beamed her relief. "Yes, thank you Ed. Ronald will you please go and make sure I didn't forget our tickets?" Fluttering her eyelashes at him, she added. "You know how forgetful I can be..."

"Of course darling," he added in a very syrupy tone that made her mentally cringe.

She turned her face back to Ed. "Should we leave our things here Ed? My suitcase is rather heavy, and I would hate to be a burden..." Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Ed opened his mouth to respond when Ronald cut him off. When the man wasn't looking at the boy, he shot a glare at him.

"You shouldn't be so concerned. I'm sure the little guy can handle it.." Ronald chided.

Al braced himself, ready to hold him back if needed.

A vein in Ed's head popped. He had it! "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULD BE SMASHED BY A MICROSCOPE!" Ed shouted in rage, charging up to Ronald, preparing to kill.

"Enough Edward! Or should I call my brother and inform him of your behavior?" Rosette said firmly, blocking Ronald from him.

Ed suddenly halted, the rage dissipating from his eyes in an instant. That was one thing he dreaded. His eyes narrowed in distaste. To be blackmailed was a bad thing. "Fine," he grumbled irritably.

"Ronald, I'd suggest that you would chose your words more carefully." She continued in a calmer voice.

The man twitched in fear. His took a deep breath before calming down. Who knew that such a boy could be so intimidating?

Rosette relaxed, grateful that Ronald wasn't going to kiss her. "Thank you." Looking at Ed again, Rosette smiled sweetly. "All right?"

The boy mentally counted to ten before replying," Yea I guess..."

"Good." Satisfied that there would be no fighting, she started to roll away from Ronald. Feeling relief, Rosette smiled at Ed in gratitude. "Thanks for all your help."

Ronald was irritated that she ignored him so easily and reached out to grab her hand. When Rosette stopped her forward movements, he crashed his lips upon hers before she could remark. Pulling back quickly, he smirked. "You know better than to ignore me darling."

Feeling a spasm of pain run up her shoulder, she tried to smile for the boys' sake. "I wasn't ignoring you Ronny, I was simply letting you get on task."

His eyes narrowed at the nickname she called him. "I would advise you to watch what you say," he replied through gritted teeth.

Ed and his brother watched the exchange between the two with confusion.

'_Yup...knew I didn't like him..._' Ed trailed off in thought.

'_I think he might have hurt her when he jerked her back like that..._' Al said quietly.

Rosette just tossed her head proudly. "You won't hurt me _Ronny_, now if you excuse me, Ed and I are going to get a drink."

Fullmetal was quick to help her get away from the man. He knew that the more they fought, the closer he could become prone to kill him.

"Thanks Ed." she said after they were out of earshot, trying not to move her left arm too much. "Sometimes I can't control my temper..."

"Is your arm alright?" Edward asked.

"Nothing I can't fix, happens sometimes." She said with false cheer.

"You sure?" he added with a raised eyebrow. "Looks bad to me."

"Just had my shoulder pulled out a bit too far. He likes doing that."

"So it seems.." he trailed off in a near growl. He decided to change the subject fast. "So where is the water at?"

"Over there I think, near the bathrooms." Rose replied. "I'm going to duck in the Lady's room for a sec, I'll be right back."

"Ok," Ed only said.

Rosette quickly rolled out of slight.

'_Ed, we really should kill this guy, I don't care what Mustang wants..._' The younger brother sent.

'_I wish. As much as I want to, I know that Mustang will flame our asses if we do that..._' Ed trailed off, sending the thought back to his brother.

'_How is she? Was she hurt?_' There was worry in Al's mental voice, for he remembered all too well the look on the Colonel's face when he laid down the law considering his sister.

'_Her shoulder was pulled a little too hard. Now she's in the bathroom._' Ed told his younger brother.

'_We're near you. I don't think he trusts her._' Al said thoughtfully.

'_Figures...that bastard..._' Ed mentally growled.

Rosette came out of the ladies room a few minutes later, smiling. Her arm looking back to normal. "Thank you for waiting Edward."

He only shrugged his shoulders. "You don't have to be so formal with me. Just call me Ed," he replied.

She beamed, dimples flashing in her cheeks. "Thank you. You can call me Rose if you want."

A small smirk formed on his lips. "Alright..." he trailed off. He was beginning to think different about Rosette.

Still smiling, she rolled along side him. "Let's get some water Ed."

He nodded. "So...what's the story on that guy you're with? He doesn't seem so endearing..." He trailed off.

"Trust me, it wasn't my idea. Roy was so piffed when I called him for help!"

Ed held his tongue for fear of saying something stupid on the Colonel's behalf.

"I love him, I really do, but sometimes he can be the most overprotective brother on this planet... He must have told you a lot of don'ts, but I won't tell if you slip." She said with a wink.

He smiled at that. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be as bad as he first thought her to be. "Oh there were a lot..." he trailed off.

"The one he threatened to kill you with was about Alchemy right?"

Ed raised his eyebrow. "I take it that he's done this with you before..." he trailed off.

"More times than I can count." Rosette replied with a fleeting smile.

Ed had to hold in his laughter at that. 'I knew it...' he thought in his mind.

"I can't blame him though." She said quietly as they took seats after getting two bottles of water.

Ed looked at Rose and murmured, "Did you know that your puppy is following you?"

Rosette took a long drink of water and rolled her eyes as she nodded.

Two hours later they were on the train. Rosette was looking out the window trying to ignore the arm Ron had wrapped around her.

'_He's like a vine that won't let go of her._' Al commented silently.

'_Agreed. Or maybe like a puppy on an invisible leash..._' Ed added mentally.

'_Who would be the puppy, her or him?_' Al asked.

'_I was thinking him..._' Ed answered.

'_Or the puppy is pretending to be the master..._' Came the mental snicker.

'_Possibly…_' Ed replied, trying to suppress the smirk that threatened to form on his face.

Rosette's lips tightened before she finally forced herself to speak. "Ronald, I'm not going anywhere you know."

He smirked as his tight never loosened. "But darling, I enjoy having you this close to me..." he purred.

"I know that, but if you got any closer to me you would smother me dearest." Rosette said sweetly.

'_...should we interfere Al_?' Ed mentally asked his brother.

'_No. I want to watch this._' Al replied.

'_I never knew this side of you brother..._' Ed mentally smirked.

'_I have a feeling she can handle herself. She'll let us know when she needs to be saved..._'

At her words, Ronald forced a kiss upon her lips. He pulled away slightly before she could have a chance to push him away. "You'll get use to it eventually Rose..." he smirked.

Taking a deep breath, she concentrated very hard on keeping herself calm. "That's for my brother to decide Ronald."

Ronald only smirked as he held in a cringe at the mention of her brother. "Ah, but Rose, won't he be upset at the sight of your new haircut?"

"It's just hair." Rosette shrugged, looking away from him. "It'll grow back." Inside however, she knew that Ronald had touched upon her own fear. The truth was that her hair was her one vanity point, and her brother had loved to run his fingers though it.

"We'll just have to wait until your hair grows back to a manageable length before the wedding," he sighed.

"What to you mean 'manageable'? It's not like I cut _your_ hair..." She shot back, stung and no little angry.

Ron replied, "It should be at least long enough for my hand to run through..."

"Why? It's my hair!" This had been precisely the reason she had cut it.

Al noticed her left hand inching toward a pouch at her side '_She's gonna brain him._' He warned Ed.

'_You wanna separate them now?_' Ed asked.

'_Might be a good idea before we find out exactly what's in that pouch..._' Al replied with a mental gulp.

'_...alright. I'll take care of the bastard and you can take care of Rose, got it?_' Ed mentally instructed.

'_Got it, just keep your temper._' He advised.

'_...I'll try._' Came the returned mental snarl

"Hey Rose, what was in that's suitcase that weighed so much?" Al asked out loud.

"Books and pads of paper. I'm hoping to be published once I settle in Central." Rosette replied, unwinding herself from under Ronald's arm and relaxing.

Ed raised his eyebrow on her slip on words, but decided not to comment. How she referred to herself rather than her and her "fiancé." A small smirk formed on his lips before he could stop it. So it was true. She was planning on using her brother to rid her of this annoyance.

Too late, Rosette realized what she had said, and her heart started to pound, hoping that Ronald wasn't thinking with his brain...

'_Uh oh... she slipped and she knows it._' Al commented.

'_Yea...I guess I should make my move about now..._' Ed replied.

Before Al could say anything though, Rosette spoke up. "I'll be right back."

Ronald noticed Rosette try to move away from him. "To where darling?" he asked innocently.

Rosette glared at him. "We are on a train, where do you think I'm going?" She replied, annoyed.

He smirked, sensing her annoyance. "You must forgive me for my rudeness. I just don't like being without you whenever it can be avoided."

Not trusting herself to say anything, Rosette made good use of this opportunity to escape instead!

Al followed her a minute later.

Ronald sighed. "She's too stubborn. Roy spoils her..."

"He spoils her?" Ed echoed, gaining interest in the bastard's statement.

"He lets her have her own way too often. He never seemed worried that she's a tomboy and didn't have a boyfriend."

He raised his eyebrow. "You seem to be already claiming yourself to be her future husband so why worry about her not having a 'boyfriend'?" he asked.

"I was chosen for her by her parents. They thought that she was never going to choose on her own."

The young teen nodded in slight understanding. "I take it that you don't like Mustang much is it?" he questioned, working hard to suppress another smirk.

"He is a fine alchemist, but as a brother... I think he was a bit lax." Ronald said carefully.

'So he thinks that Mustang is overprotective. Still, is he admiring the man for his alchemy or something?' Ed asked himself. He looked at Ron and asked, "Are you interested in the studies of Alchemy? It seems like you know about the science."

"Yes, and this is one of the reasons he doesn't like me very much. Roy has odd views and ideas about her little sister. For example, she doesn't want her to learn anything of Alchemy, military or otherwise."

'Odd. I've been wondering about that myself. Perhaps this has something with her being in a wheelchair...either that or his over protectiveness...' Edward thought.

"I know Rose doesn't like me very much, but I do love her in my own way. Roy can't protect her all the time, after all." Ronald said, no expression in his burning black eyes.

"You say that and yet you follow her to Central. Are you planning to protect her from the Colonel as well?" Ed couldn't help but question.

"Roy would never harm her, but he can't control her either. I'm hoping to be able to talk him into making Rose see common sense."

"Common sense being?"

"Getting her to see where her family and myself are coming from."

"You want to get her into Alchemy, is that right?" Ed asked.

"She should at least be able to understand the general concepts if nothing else." Ronald said with contempt in his voice.

Edward nodded in understanding, but not in agreement. He of all people knew how dangerous Alchemy could be. Well, he and Al at least. He could understand why Roy would want to protect Rose from such a study.

"Every time her parents or myself buy her an Alchemy book, the woman always sends it to Roy!" Ronald continued, clearly venting. "However, when Roy bought her that fancy typewriter, you'd thought he had just given her a diamond ring by the way she acted!"

"Well...Alchemy isn't for everyone..." Ed began slowly, but sternly.

"It took us days to get her away from that thing. The only reason it's still at home is because I wouldn't let her pack it! She doesn't understand that writing will never get her anywhere unless she's writing about Alchemy." Ronald continued.

'_Now this guy's starting to piss me off. If Al doesn't get here fast enough, I may kill him before the Colonel can even toast the bastard.._.' Edward mentally growled.

"We're back." Rose said calmly as she and Al returned to their seats.

Al, having heard his brother's murderous thought, looked a little edgy as he sat next to his brother. '_You all right Ed?_' He asked worriedly.

'_Yea, for a guy ready to kill someone..._' The older brother replied sarcastically.

_'What did he say that made you so mad?_' The younger brother asked.

_'He has this attitude that Alchemy is something everyone should get into. Like it's some fun subject or some shit. Not to mention that he said that Rose's writing is useless unless it's about Alchemy. Even though I never read her work, it must be alright considering how much Mustang brags over it._.' Edward explained to his younger brother.

To add to Edward's growing anger, Ronald smirked and put his arm around Rose's shoulders once again.

'_Doesn't the Colonel always carry a notebook around with him?_' Al questioned as Rosette murmured something quietly to Ronald and tried to shake off his arm.

'_What?_' Ed asked, never noticing what Alphonse indicated.

_'He's always carrying a notebook with him when not in the office, and he sneaks in as many pages as he can get. I think that it might be some of Rose's work._' Al replied.

'Ok, but that doesn't really do much for us now...' Ed replied.

'True...' Al replied, as Rosette stared out the window.

Edward's fist bunched up as he tried to hide an annoyed scowl. 'I guess for now, we can only grin and bear it...'

'We have the easy part, but Rosette is saddled with the hard part...' Al reminded him.

'Yea...so what the hell are we supposed to do?' Ed grumbled in his mind.

Al had no answer, and in a few hours, they had reached to next stop.

Ronald turned to face Rosette and stated," It's about time we got here. Are you ready to go sweetheart?"

Rosette somehow managed a smile for him. "Yes, I am. Ed, Al, do you need help with the luggage?"

"I think we can manage..." Ed began to say.

Ronald quickly cut him off, saying," My dear, you are being too kind to these men. I'm sure they can handle themselves..."

Ed's eyes narrowed, but he didn't dare open his mouth to reply.

"There young men were sent by my brother Ronald, and as such I will decide what is proper and what is not in my brother's absence."

Al was grateful that he was armored, otherwise his mouth would have taken a dive.

Ronald slightly narrowed his eyes at her defiant tone. _'Seems that the woman has spent too much time talking to her brother..._' he thought sourly. "A woman shouldn't get too full of herself. It wouldn't be lady-like," he reprimanded her.

"I was just following my brother's orders _Ronny_ dear." She said sweetly. Smiling at the Elric brothers, she left the train without another word.

'_Wow… and I used to think that Mustang was the biggest bastard on the planet..._' Ed mentally replied in sarcasm.

Al busied himself with getting Rosette's trunk, trying to hide his laughter.

Edward only rolled his eyes and started to walk in the path behind. Rosette holding his own bundle of luggage.

Al clanked beside his brother. "Interesting... which inn are we staying at tonight?"

"Mustang gave me orders that we are to stay at this place named 'Caller's Inn' which is about ten minutes from where we are now..." Ed murmured in thought.

"I'm not surprised. Rosette doesn't look like the kind that can sleep on the streets..." Al murmured back.

"Not like Mustang would even allow it, knowing his over-protectiveness on her," the elder brother snorted out in return.

"He has a good reason though I think, and it's got something to do with her legs..."

'_Either that or Alchemy..._' Edward finished in thought, remembering how the Colonel told them not to mention Alchemy in front of Rose.

They had barely gotten across the train station when Rosette stopped in her tracks to avoid bowling over a huge crowd.

"What's going on here?" Edward asked, stopping as well once he seen the crowd.

"I don't know Ed." Rose said honestly.

The crowd turned out to be a large procession, with a handsome yet sneaky man leading that way. His shifty eyes scanned everyone in the group, but lightened greedy on Rosette. "Greetings visitors! I am Robert, doctor and mayor of this town." His smile was oily, and he seemed to be speaking directly to Rosette.

"This can't be good." Al hissed softly to his brother.

"Yea, definitely not good..." Edward agreed with narrowed eyes.

"Hello." Rosette said, seemingly shy. "I'm sorry that we were in your way."

"No no, the fault is mine! Tell me young lady, have you come here seeking my treatment?" The false healer asked in a fawningly kind tone.

Al saw her face pale and her chin quiver before she swallowed. "It is past mending sir, it would just be a waste of your time." She answered softly, pain barely hidden in her voice.

'_Kuso! What the hell should we do?_' Edward demanded, casting a look at his brother. '_I could show him my State Alchemist watch and see if it makes him back off..._'

'_You could try, or maybe Ron will finally prove useful._' Al replied.

'_Useful? How precisely?_' Ed pondered.

'_Let's just see what he does._'

'_Alright..._'

Ronald's eyes brightened up in hopefulness. 'There was a way for her to be healed?' He asked himself, then he looked at Rose and suggested, "Why don't you let him try his medicines? It's not like you meet men like this very often. Perhaps you can be able to stand on your own..."

Rose shook her head, trying hard not to cry. "No please... you don't understand..." She whispered softly.

"Nonsense! It's no trouble at all for a pretty young lady like you." He gave an oily smile before bending down before her. Before anyone else could move, he rolled up her pant leg, revealing the horrible secret the Rose had hidden...

The skin on her thin leg was covered in ugly thick leathery red scars. Looking at it, it was clear that this couldn't be healed.

'_What...the hell?_' Edward thought in his mind. His eyes widened slightly as he glanced at the scars on the woman's legs.

Rosette was swallowing convulsively now, and the 'healer' had a look of absolute horror written on his face. Without a word, she rolled down her pant leg again.

Ron's eyes widened as he seen the marks on her legs. "How the hell...?" he gasped out.

"Never mind." Rosette said in an oddly detached tone of voice.

"Al," Ed said in a serious tone. "Get Rose out of here," he then commanded in a voice that told Alphonse that he shouldn't argue.

Al mentally gulped, but quietly took Rosette's arm and led her away. Rosette went with him without any protest at all.

Ronald bore a grimace on his features as he watched Alphonse push Rose away from the area. '_How could she hide something like that from me?_' he demanded to himself. Ron then turned his stare at the young Alchemist who began walking towards the so-called "healer."

"You know, when a person doesn't want to be exposed in public, you might want to listen next time..." Edward stated in a mature tone while walking forwards.

"Who are you to question my methods? Her husband wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help her!" Robert snapped.

"Nice of you to ask who I am," Edward smirked, pulling out his State qualification Alchemist watch from his pants pocket, making sure that the man saw it.

Robert took two steps back in surprise, then regained his composure. "Oh? So the State has nothing better to do now than to poke it's nose where it isn't welcome."

Edward ignored the man's retort and continued," Well the State ordered me to investigate your so-called miraculous healing powers."

"Are they recruiting children now in the army? How sad." Smirking he continued. "You're small enough that I'd guess you were around eight or nine years old."

Edward's eyes couldn't help but twitch at the mention of his size. '_Bastard..._' he mentally growled in anger.

Ronald slightly smirked as he watched the mature expression on Edward's face waver. _'So he doesn't take well to remarks about his size? How amusing... so he still behaves like a child after all..._'

Robert smiled. "As interesting as our chat has been _Fullmetal Alchemist_, I must go now. I have a lot of people to see, maybe your friend will come see me again..."

"Highly doubt it, _healer_." Edward replied, putting extra sarcastic emphasis on the word "healer."

"I don't." Robert replied smugly as he turned to go.

Edward's eyes narrowed at that reply, but nevertheless let the man leave. He would deal with him at another time. At the moment, he wanted to check on Rosette. Ed walked in the direction that he seen his brother go, hoping to spot them. He held in his urge to roll his eyes once he noticed Ronald following him.

Ronald walked more briskly to keep up with the boy's steps. "How the hell could you just let the guy escape like that!" he declared in a tone of anger.

Edward stopped in his steps and turned to glare at the man who had the audacity to scold him. "And how the hell could you go against your so-called 'love's' words when she said she didn't want it done in the first place?" he retorted in an annoyed tone.

Ronald's eyes narrowed as Edward continued on his rant. "If I wasn't mistaken, you were quite easily taken in by that bastard's words a minute ago!"

"There are actually more important things going on now, but of course you wouldn't notice! Aren't you concerned for Rosette at all?" Ed then demanded.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ronald then demanded in return. He was shocked that the boy would have the guts to scold him. Not only shocked, but more pissed than ever.

"Don't you care about people other than yourself?" Edward then replied.

Al stepped forward outside the inn. "Quiet both of you."

The boy took a deep breath to calm himself down. Then he turned to his brother. "Sorry you had to hear that," he murmured so that only his brother could hear. "It's sort of hard to keep my calm when he's the one scolding you..."

"It's all right. Rosette's in her room now sleeping I think, though she was crying earlier. She said she would join us later whenever we decided to eat." Al said quietly.

Edward's expression turned solemn at the mention of Rosette crying. "Alright..." he sighed. "But what about him?" he hissed, his expression darkening at the mention of Ronald.

"Rosette has one room, and the three of us share another."

"And whose arrangements were those?" Edward demanded.

"Mustang's."

"Should have known..." Edward muttered. "That bastard..."

"I think that he did that so Ronald couldn't sneak off."

"Oh, trust me, he won't sneak off," Edward vowed in a deadly tone of voice. "Because he may die before the end of the night..."

"If he dies, so do you." Al muttered.

Edward stifled a nervous laugh. "It was just a joke..." he replied, knowing fully well who Alphonse was referring to.

"It didn't sound like it, but for once I completely agree with you."


	3. False hope, real tears

Author's notes: Hey everybody, I finally tracked down Turtlequeen2 long enough to finish this chapter. glares I honestly didn't think that it would take this long to find her, but I hope that she sticks around for a bit…

Turtlequeen2: Yeah, heh heh, scratches back of head Sorry? Due to some complications, I was kinda not around... I apologize! bows Well, since this was released around this time of year, uh, Happy Holidays!

Sappho's Daughter: Hopefully this chapter will be well worth the wait, and it will be updated again soon! Thank you to everyone who has waited so long!

* * *

Later that night, Rosette rejoined the boys for dinner. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing jet black jeans and a heavy dark blue sweater. Her face had been expertly repaired, and you would have never known that she had been crying unless you were looking very closely. "Good evening gentlemen, I hope that I haven't kept you waiting very long."

All of the boys greeted her with a smile.

"So, are you doing well tonight?" Edward asked, hoping that her night was going better than his was. He was so aggravated with Ronald that if Alphonse wasn't around, he would have left a few bruises on the bastard by now.

"Yes, thank you. Are the three of you comfortable in your room? It must be crowded in there." Rosette replied, hiding a sympathetic smile. "Do any of you know what is going to be served for dinner tonight?"

"We're doing just peachy..." Edward managed to get out between clenched teeth.

Alphonse let out a small sigh. He knew exactly why his older brother was so tense.

Throwing an almost unseen glare at Edward, Ron shifted his feet and forced a smile. He did not like the alchemist one bit. He couldn't understand why his woman could be as pleasant around someone as stubborn as Edward. "Yes, we are doing well..." he lied.

Not noticing the growing tension between the boys, the redhead nodded almost absently as she calmly pulled a chair aside so she could pull up under the table properly. Automatically, she set one of her notebooks on the table and pulled a pen out from behind her ear.

The three men pulled out their chairs and sat in them.

Alphonse was the first to notice Rosette's actions. "So...are you writing more to show Colonel Mustang?" he asked humbly. He also questioned her because he wanted to lift some of the tension that was building up between his brother and Ron.

"Actually, this is a novel idea that I'm toying with. I haven't decided if I want to show this to Roy or not yet. Right now I'm hammering out what I want to happen when." Rosette replied, idly chewing on her pen as she opened the notebook.

Before she could explain further, she felt hands pull her notebook out from under her pen. As expected, it was Ronald. "Dear, it is rude for you to be writing while we're eating. You should grace us with your words instead of just your presence."

Noticing Rosette's expression of annoyance and slight anger, Edward decided to speak. "Or do you mean grace you with her words? As far as I'm concerned, I don't mind her writing since she has the idea in mind at the present time. You should learn to let her do what she wants to do instead of controlling her every action."

Alphonse resisted the urge to smack his armored head with his hand. Now Edward had done it...

Ronald's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me how to act around my fiancée?" he demanded.

Edward smirked. "I guess I am."

Rosette spoke up now. "Ronald, you know that I would never be so rude as to write while I'm eating in front of our guests. I am merely getting this down so that I don't forget before dinner." She reproached gently.

Her fiancé raised his eyebrow and calmed slightly at her voice and expression. "Well, still, it would be better if you would put it away," he replied in an off-tone.

"I would have done it sooner if you had let me finish." She replied with a bit of snap coloring her voice. "If I lose this train of thought because of your behavior, I will be very cross with you."

Edward and Alphonse looked at each other, both mutually annoyed with their argument. However, Edward was the only one who decided to voice his opinions. "Ron, perhaps, you could let her finish just this once," he suggested in a voice that sounded like he was struggling with his politeness.

The man threw back a glare at the small alchemist and resisted the urge to begin another fight with him. He let out a sigh of defeat when he saw all of their expressions. Ron knew that he had lost. Throwing up his arms, he declared, "All right, all right, you win, but don't blame me if this place gets silent..."

'If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!' Edward growled mentally.

Carefully, Rosette slid her notebook back into place away from Ronald and began to write madly on the page. When dinner arrived, she regretfully closed her notebook and tucked it at her side before putting the pen back behind her ear. "Thank you."

Edward felt a small smile tug at his lips and he gave her the friendly expression before returning to his normal neutral countenance.

Ronald liked it when Rosette thanked him for things. "You're more than welcome," he smirked.

'Give me a break...' the State Alchemist mentally groaned, hearing Ronald's reply.

The redhead smiled at them both, but winked at Edward when Ronald wasn't looking. After the subtle action was made, she started to eat her food. However, like Ed, her milk remained untouched.

If Al could have smiled, he would have. "Rosette, does your milk taste all right? You've barely touched it," he noted calmly.

Edward immediately turned his attention on his brother and the woman sitting across from him. Now that Alphonse mentioned it, she didn't touch her milk... He listened closely to her answer.

Rosette smiled. "Milk and other dairy products don't agree with me very well." She replied, not wanting to admit that her body couldn't handle those foods.

A grin nearly spread across Edward's face when he heard her say those words. "Are you serious? I hate milk!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "And Al here thought that I was weird for not drinking it!" he added, pointing at his sighing brother.

"It's not the fact that I hate it. I can't eat anything that is made from dairy. My body can't tolerate it anymore." She answered in reply.

"Oh..." Edward said, taking aback by the sudden change of words. "I can't particularly say that it's bad since I dislike it so much..." he stated in a calmer tone of voice.

"I know and for the record, I can drink it if I absolutely have to, but I'll be ill for a few days afterwards."

Edward nodded, taking in the information. He hadn't thought about how bad her condition must have been. When he first saw her, he merely just saw a woman in a wheelchair; not one with internal issues as well.

She continued to eat her meal, but her plate was still half full when she made to push it away.

Ronald sat eating his fill in silence, only paying attention to Rosette when she was talking to Edward. When he noticed her push away her plate, he decided to speak up. "Darling, why didn't you finish eating what's on your plate? You don't know when we'll eat next," Ronald explained.

"I can only eat so much, Ronald. What may the normal amount of food for one person might not be the normal amount for someone else. Besides, guys eat more than girls do," she said, smiling slightly. "If I get hungry later, I have snacks in my bag." Rosette shrugged nonchalantly.

For his part, Rosette's fiancée wasn't too pleased with her statement but knew that he couldn't forcibly make her eat. Not only would that cause attention shift to him in public, but it would also cause Edward to try and harm him. He couldn't have that. Maintaining his composure, he smiled. "I'm just concerned about your health, darling."

Rosette nodded once in graciousness. "Thank you, but I think that I can take care of myself, Ronald."

The man found it harder to maintain his cool. He did, however, note how she actually meant her gratitude. That was a point for him. "I know that you're more than capable. I'm just making sure that you can maintain the health so that you can continue doing so."

Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why couldn't he just leave things be? She was already thankful and he had to go and push himself.

After a minute, the redhead backed up. "I'm going for a roll to clear my head, the three of you should get some rest."

Ronald stifled a sigh while Edward nodded in a simple fashion. If Alphonse had a mouth that was movable, he would have probably given her a small smile.

Getting out of his chair, Ronald was about to say something when Edward's glare in his direction stopped him from doing so.

She nodded to them before rolling out of the inn, her notebook safely tucked in at her side. Once she was outside, she sighed sadly and wandered thoughtfully down the street.

The young state alchemist cast a look at his brother. '_Do you think that she'll be okay?_' he mentally questioned.

'_I don't know._' Al replied. '_She might be upset. I don't think she had wanted us to see her legs._'

'_As if that weren't made obvious enough earlier..._' Ed sarcastically shot back. '_I wonder what happened... By the looks of it, the bastard didn't even know, either._'

'_From the way she acted, I wouldn't ask. Her legs might have healed, but I don't think her heart has..._' Al replied.

'_Yeah..._' This was the elder's answering mental sigh. "Well, I guess we should all go to bed..." he murmured out loud. He thought about the investigations he'd have to deal with tomorrow, and had a suspicion that the false healer had something to do with it.

Ronald stared at the two brothers and noticed that by their stances, they appeared to be able to mentally communicate. He quickly pushed aside the thought, denouncing it as impossible. He had better things to think about.

Al stood up. "I don't think we need to wait up for her." He said out loud.

The oldest man there felt his mood change from worry into anger. Who was she to decide to excuse herself so hastily? Not to mention, she didn't even get anyone to protect her in case some idiot tried to mug her or something of the sort. He knew that he could do nothing and so remained quiet.

Meanwhile, Rosette wandered aimlessly, lost in deep thought. Finally she parked in the town square, idly rubbing her leg, feeling one of the scars but having no feeling in the legs themselves.

Robert; the man who caused her entire dilemma to begin, noticed her leave the inn and waited to approach her until she was far enough away from the men who seemed to be her protectors. With an apologetic expression on his face, he made himself appear sorry for what he had done. "Young lady!" he exclaimed. He noticed her flinch, but persisted more cautiously. "I have been looking for you all day. I feel horrible for my earlier actions."

Rosette looked at him gravely. "Thank you. I know you were only trying to help." She was trying to be nice, but she couldn't get his disgusted look out of her mind.

"I do truly want to help you, regardless of your condition," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I know of a way to cure you. I will admit that I wouldn't be able to do it with my own powers alone, but there is a way."

"I'm not greedy. Even if I could never walk again, I would settle for regaining the feeling back in my legs. The scars don't matter."

A grin almost formed on his face, but he pushed it down before it could show. He was beginning to catch her interest. "It's a special ceremony. I've done it more than once and it has never failed," he explained.

"How long does it take?" Rosette asked, trying to stamp down the hope that was trying to emerge. "What does it entail?"

"Oh, it takes no time at all," he smiled. "Just a few minutes." He thought to himself quickly, not wanting to mention the stone he would use. "I merely have to touch your problem areas with a special tool of mine and they will go away."

Rosette bit her lip. "My injuries aren't..." She blushed in shame.

The healer noticed her expression and tried his best to give her a comforting look. "Even if you have such high pride about yourself, you ultimately want to be able to walk again, right? At the very least, you want to get rid of the reminder of such horrible events you must have experienced..." It was as if he could read through her every thought.

She closed her eyes and nodded. "I would have to strip from waist down... it's not pretty." Rosette said softly.

"Well, to save anyone from seeing you exposed in public, we would have to go somewhere else," he murmured. "I live to help others so you don't have to worry."

Again, Rosette nodded. "All right."

"My manor is down the street from here, if you don't mind the location," Robert announced.

She frowned, then unlocked her breaks and nodded slowly. Even though this wasn't smart, Rosette couldn't help but want to try.

"Please, follow me," he directed, beginning to walk away from her and then towards a deserted street in the quiet town.

* * *

"Where is she?" demanded an irate Ronald. He was pacing the floor of the shared room. His future wife shouldn't be out this long without his company!

Edward actually agreed with the man for once since their meeting. She had been gone for almost an hour. If she had returned, they would have heard her wheelchair creak outside of their room.

Al looked at Ronald. "She just went to look around. If there's a bookstore, I wouldn't worry."

"There are bookstores open at this time of day?" his older brother asked with his eyebrow raised. "I thought that most towns shut down after sun down." He immediately wanted to hit himself when he realized why Alphonse said what he said the moment before. It was only to make Ronald calm down. Oh well.

"If she doesn't come back within ten minutes, I'm going out to look for her..." the man growled. Edward's statement made things worse, as expected.

'_Gee, thanks._' Al snapped to his brother.

'_Sorry. I wasn't thinking,_' Ed responded. '_I'm just hoping that healer didn't meet with her while she was on her walk..._'

'_You read my mind... I don't like this._' Al replied

'_Me, either..._' However angry Ronald was, the elder Elric didn't want him going along with them. As much as he wanted him to be a casualty, he didn't want Rosette upset. If what they thought was true, then it would be dangerous for a civilian.

"We'll go look for her. It won't take long." Al said to Ronald calmly.

Ronald looked ready to protest, but Edward interrupted his potential rant. "You should stay here in case she returns."

Al waited, ready to knock Ronald out if needed.

The man surprisingly, relented. "Alright, then..." he muttered despite not liking the position he was being put in.

Ed smirked. "Okay, then." Glancing over at Al, he said, "Let's go!" He pushed open the door, rushing out of it.

* * *

Rosette was alone in the waiting room, trying to work up the courage to remove her pants. Even after all this time, she still hadn't gotten used to her disability. She had just gotten good at hiding how she felt about it.

"Please, tell me when you're ready, Rosette," Robert called out from behind the door. He was wearing a weird necklace that he hadn't had on when he first met her in the town center. At the end of the chain rested a large chunk of a red stone.

She swallowed. "I've got to take them off completely right?" The redhead sounded nervous.

"Yes, you would have to if you want both of your legs to be healed," he replied.

"Please, relax yourself," he added, noticing her nervous tone.

Biting her lip hard, she wiggled out of her pants, but left on her underwear, revealing the full extent of the damage that was done to her. "Okay." Rosette called.

"You may come out. I will try my hardest to try and not make you seem uncomfortable," the man urged.

Again, Rosette braced herself against the emotional pain, the door slowly opened and she rolled out.

He smiled at her and noted her bravery. "Roll over towards the middle of the room, please," he instructed.

Rosette silently did as she was told, trying to keep the hope out of her gray eyes.

Robert kneeled down onto his knees before her. Taking the necklace off, he dangled the chain an inch above her legs so the stone would be near them. He began to channel his energy through the stone, not paying attention to the red glow that began to shine throughout the room.

The redhead gritted her teeth, trying to control her nerves.

He saw the abnormal amount of scars on her legs and mentally admitted that he had never seen so many on one person before. He began to lower the stone and the gem touched her legs for but a moment. He was ready to begin...

There was a sudden crash as the door was kicked open. "Hey! Bastard! I thought we told you not to go around her!" The angry yell of a certain alchemist rang throughout the room.

Al was horrified at what he saw; he could almost understand why she would try this. He stood by his brother, and wished he could smile at her to let her know it was okay.

Immediately, the glow of crimson ceased. The man rose up and threw a glare back at Edward. "How dare you interrupt this girl's chance at a miracle cure?!"

The alchemist snorted. "Like hell you could cure her. You're using a fake philosopher's stone!"

Rosette frowned, and made to back up, not wanting them to see her like this.

Robert scowled. "The State always has to interfere with everything that's good about the world, don't they?" His voice was laced with rage.

Edward glowered. "I don't know what you're trying to play at, but I know that you're going for power. We're going to prevent that from happening!" By "we're," he was referring to him and his brother.

"Rosette, go into the other room," Al said to the redhead gently, grateful that his armor hid his feelings.

The older brother felt rage boil up within him. How could someone build that girl's hopes up so high like that? It was cruel. The stone would possibly cure her, but there would be a cost to it. Once she learned of the stone, she wouldn't be too happy to know that people's lives were sacrificed for her cure. "I think it's about time you get shut down..." Amber eyes flashed with anger. He was prepared to fight.

Rosette fled the room, trying not to cry in shame.

Al's anger was also boiling. '_Let's get rid of him._' he snarled to his brother.

'_I'd love nothing better..._' the boy growled mentally.

"Ha! You think that you could kill me?" Robert laughed. He acted as if the notion were comical. "With this stone," the man said, holding up the necklace, "I can kill you before you could even get near me!"

The elder brother clapped his hands together, producing a blade out of his automail arm. "We'll see about that!" he yelled, charging towards Robert.

Al was grateful that Rosette wasn't here as he played back up to his brother, creating walls if needed to protect him.

The con man pointed his stone out, launching out torrents of knives by breaking up the necklace chain. "Die!" he yelled as the weapons were aimed straight towards Edward.

Not stopping to think, Al drew an array on the rough surface of the wooden floor, putting up a wall just in time to protect then both, hoping that Robert wouldn't try to use Rosette as a hostage. '_Good thing I started keeping a box of chalk sticks in my armor!_'

'_Thanks..._' Ed mentally acknowledged. If it weren't for Alphonse, he would have been injured by now.

All of the knives stabbed into the wall, not scratching either of the boys. That left Robert furious. Reaching up to touch the low ceiling, he produced raining daggers. "Do you think that you could make a wall to protect you from the ceiling?" he mocked.

Edward smirked. '_I think I have a plan, Al. Follow my lead._'

'_Go for it, but try to keep him away from the door!_' Al answered

'Got it!' The young state alchemist clapped his hands together to produce a barrage of wooden stakes to jut out from the wall. With the daggers falling on the two brothers, he had to move fast. Hissing at each cut made on his skin, he prayed that nothing fatally would result out of the fight.

Robert looked started at the stakes, but laughed since he was a long ways away from the wall. "Is that the best you have, Fullmetal Alchemist?" he taunted.

Edward sneered. "Nope!" While the man grew distracted, Ed had continued charging towards him, sacrificing his body in the process. Jumping up, he landed on top of the false healer, knocking the stone away from his hands.

Robert's eyes flashed panic. "M-my stone!" he yelped as Edward's blade was held at his neck.

Al stamped on the stone, shattering it with an angry blow of his heel.

Keeping his haughty smile in place, Ed called back towards his brother. "What should we do to him, Al?"

"Let's turn him in. We have bigger things to deal with." Al said in a deadly calm voice.

The elder Elric snorted in a disappointed fashion. "And I thought that I could rough him up a bit..." he murmured, not paying any attention to the panicking man beneath him.

"We have orders, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, calming down in the slightest bit. "We still have to make sure he doesn't get away, though," he added, getting up while still holding the blade to the man's neck.

"Knock him out." Al wasn't in a good mood.

"That works for me." Transmuting the blade back into a normal arm, Ed used it to hit the guy on the top of his head to knock him unconscious.

Robert could do nothing in protest and felt his lids get heavy when the blow was delivered.

Now Al really looked at her older brother. "Are you okay though Ed?"

It was now that Edward noticed that his clothes were shredded in many places throughout his body. His blood dripped out of his red jacket, staining it a darker shade of crimson. "Dammit..." he cursed. He had suffered worse, but the cuts would still need to be cared for.

The boy felt liquid trickle down his face, signifying that he was cut across his cheeks as well.

Only now did Rosette poke her head out. Seeing the blood, she ducked back in, only to come back out with a clean towel that she wordlessly gave to Edward.

"T-thanks..." the young teen stuttered out, grabbing the towel from her shaky hands. He grew nervous because he didn't know how she felt towards them. He began to say something, but could only say her name. "Rosette..."

Rosette only shook her head, but not before Edward saw the tears pool in her wounded gray eyes.

Edward knew that saying "sorry" wouldn't even begin to repair the damage that had been done. He snapped his mouth closed and used the towel to try and wipe his face off. The blood continued flowing; only staining the white material red.

Frowning, she just pointed to the room she had come out of, unable to speak.

A seductive laugh sounded from the darkness of the room. Twinkling ruby eyes appeared with the rest of the black form. "Such a pity that you had to go and ruin my plans again, Fullmetal boy," the female voice purred. Pale skin contrasted greatly from the black dress and gloves. The woman's lips formed a slight frown. "Whatever did I do to deserve such cruelty?"

"Y-You're one of those homunculi!" Edward declared as his eyes widened. The towel in his hands dropped to the ground.

Rosette swallowed, but couldn't say anything, though she heard Al come up behind her.

"I'm imagining that you're the one who gave that bastard the stone, right?" Edward growled, feeling anger well up inside of him, as well as a little bit of fear.

"You're all cut up from fighting with that weakling fool?" She smirked, directing her attention to the unconscious man. "He was merely another tool we used. You just got here earlier than planned."

"What are you trying to do?" he demanded. He knew their evil and selfish intents, but what was with targeting specific places?

The nail on her index finger extended along with her black glove. One wondered if the glove was her actual skin, the way it adjusted. She cast a sideways glance at the man she gave the stone to. Jutting the nail forward, she stabbed Robert through the chest and retracted the weapon in one fast and flawless movement. She chuckled. "You'll know soon enough, Boy," she murmured.

Edward knew that he wouldn't be able to fight her and win with the injuries he was suffering. Sure, the guy was an idiot, but he didn't deserve to be used and cast aside so simply! The anger within him rose. "You bitch..." he bit out.

A small squeak that was barely heard came from Rosette, her hurt gray eyes seemingly huge in her white face.

Lust paid him no heed. She turned her sights onto Rosette. "Your scars. They look as if you've lived through the Ishbal War," the homunculus noted with simplicity. "A pleasant pattern, really." Lust was amused while inwardly, she was also ticked off that Edward and his brother foiled her plans once more.

Ed was prepared to battle her even if it meant that he'd risk his life. She had crossed the line.

The redhead shook in place, and tears fell unheeded down her face.

Al stepped in front of Rosette protectively, ready to defend her.

The state alchemist was trembling with both fear and rage. The bitch would pay for what she did. He transmuted his arm back into a blade and assumed a battle stance.

"Stay behind me Rosette." Al said softly, not sure if the redhead would hear him or not.

"I don't have time to battle you," she dismissed. "You're still useful to be kept alive. Besides, your movements will make your blood loss that much greater." Lust glanced down at the ground to look at the growing puddle forming around his body.

Edward followed her eyes to note that she was right. While the cuts weren't that major, the accumulation of no treatment and the multiple injures did add up. "I can try!" he roared, charging at her recklessly. He knew that Al would have objected, but at that time point in time, he thought about nothing but to hurt someone.

Al stayed where he was, worried about Rosette and not wanting to leave her unprotected.

She sighed. She acted as if a fly were buzzing about her. Extending one of her nails, she rammed it through his gut. He froze in place, the nail going out of the other side of the body part. Edward coughed up blood and paled.

"Not listening to reason will cause your death, you know," she pointed out, retracting her nails, leaving him to drop into his own puddle of crimson blood.

Alphonse watched in shock as his brother fell forward. He could do nothing but scream. "EDWARD!"


	4. Hell hath no fury like a brother's rage

Author's Note: I'm sorry this took so long, I finally managed to tie turtlequeen2 down long enough to get this chapter written. Hope everyone enjoys it, and happy birthday turtlequeen2!

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The next morning, Ed found himself in a hospital bed with Al and Rosette watching him. Ronald was calling Mustang to let them know that they would be a little late. Rosette didn't seem inclined to talk, and it was very clear that she was doing her best to hide the pain from everyone. Seeing Ed stir, the redhead smiled slightly and closed the book she had been reading.

Edward blinked his eyes open slowly, annoyed by the bright lights above him. "W-what happened...? Where am I?" he whispered before groaning from the pain he felt in his abdomen.

Alphonse rotated himself quickly, extremely happy to see his brother awake. "Ed! You're up!" he chirped, rising from his seat.

"You are in the town hospital. I brought you here last night after the fight." Rosette said simply.

The boy shot up before groaning again. "Dammit..." he murmured, knowing that this was not the first time he nearly died because of a humonculus. "I guess that she got away?"

"Brother, don't move. You're gonna reopen your wounds!" Al chided. Calming a bit, his younger brother added, "Yes, Lust managed to escape. She said that she wasn't interested in killing you at the moment."

Rosette stayed silent, listening to Ron talk with Roy on the nearby phone. She briefly wondered if she should leave, having been the cause of all of this.

Edward cast a look at Rosette and knew that something was wrong. He thought back to the events that took place the day before and knew how much they must have harmed her. "Rose..." he murmured, staring at her. "Are you okay?" He did not like her silence.

For a moment, Rosette let the mask drop, letting Edward see depth of the soul wound she'd been hiding since that night. "I'll live Ed, you were the one who got creamed." She said aloud when she resumed her calm expression.

The young man saw the pain etched on her face before she hid it behind a calm mask. He nodded, understanding her mental state of mind. He forced a smirk. "Don't worry much about me. As Al says, I'm reckless. It's not the first time I got in this state," he said, joking and trying to make her feel a little better.

Alphonse caught on and wanted to roll his eyes if he had any to use. "At least you admit to it," he muttered.

"Still if I hadn't…" Rosette sighed sadly. "Just another example that I should just stop hoping… one step forward, ten steps backwards…" She shook her head, drifting back into her own thoughts.

Edward let out a breath. "Rose, there's nothing wrong with hoping for things that seem impossible." Casting a look at his brother, he knew that the two of them knew that feeling all too well. "You just have to be careful about who you talk to. A lot of people can't be trusted in this day and age."

"And who would I talk to?" She pointed out, noticing the look. "It upsets Roy, and everyone else tells me to quit whining and move on."

Alphonse did not like where this conversation was heading towards. If his face could show solemnness, he would have been displaying it at them both. 'Ed_, I don't think we should tell her about _that_ until she's feeling better,_' he said, sending the thought to his older brother.

The Fullmetal Alchemist inwardly scoffed. '_Of course, I wasn't gonna tell her now! I'm not that insensitive!_' Edward mentally fumed. Instead, Ed raised his eyebrow. "Since when have you complained? We haven't heard you complain about your life since we met you."

Rose shrugged. "Let's just say I'm something of a disgrace in my town. The people there think that Roy let his compassion get the better of him."

Edward was tempted to smart off about the Colonel but refrained from doing it aloud. '_Compassion? I really can't see her point of view. Compassionate people don't blackmail!_' he ranted within his mind. Keeping up his mask, he only looked annoyed. "If people there don't appreciate you for your true self, they aren't worth your time."

Alphonse wanted to roll his eyes. '_Ed, calm down. Colonel Mustang is not all that bad and you know it._' Glancing down at Rosette's frail body, he asked, "So, are you feeling better physically?"

"You mean since the accident, or since last night?" The redhead asked, looking confused.

"Since last night," the armored boy replied. "You've been looking deep in thought all day."

"I'll live; I'm mostly just kicking myself for my stupidity." Rosette assured him.

Edward shrugged before regretting it. Even small movements hurt. "It just shows that you're human. Everyone falls for temptation sometime or another," he said after wincing.

Edward attempted to lift his automail arm only to discover that the "joints" had been loosened by the fight. The limb was also chipped in a few places. He resisted the urge to groan. 'A certain someone is going to kill me when she finds out...' he mentally panicked to his brother.

Alphonse sighed. "I'll call her tomorrow, Ed. You need just to worry about recovering. We both know that you don't need that added stress...," he murmured, knowing exactly who he was talking about.

Before anything else could be said, Ronald entered the room with an obvious forced look of relief. "Oh, Edward, I see that you're awake now," he admonished. Turning to the suit of armor, he added, "You have to call Central. The Colonel wishes to speak with you and your brother." He pointed to the phone that was beside Ed's bed.

Edward scowled when he saw the man enter his room. "Thanks for caring," he drawled out in sarcasm. Rolling his eyes, he replied, "So much for no added stress, Al."

His brother shook his head and dialed the number to Colonel Mustang's office. When he heard the receiver pick up, he began to speak.

Rose smiled slightly, already knowing that Roy was in a flaming mood. "Bad?" She asked Ronald.

"Your brother's mood? Yes," Ronald said, cringing. He saw her smile slightly and returned the expression. "I see that you're feeling better."

"Thanks. I'll talk to Roy after Ed's done." She replied

It was obvious that he had no clue what kind of state she really was in. "He is very worried about you. As I was last night," he commented.

"I know, I'll calm him down."

Edward ignored Alphonse's conversation with the Flame Alchemist, knowing that he'd experience the same hell or worse. Turning his sights on the self-proclaimed "happy" couple, he saw Ronald bothering Rosette. He could tell that she was trying to get away from him. "Hey, Ron. What did you tell him?"

The man faced the injured boy and raised his eyebrow. He shot an apologetic look towards his love, not really wanting to discontinue their conversation, but at the same time, knowing that he could not be rude to company. "Exactly what happened last night. You and your brother saved Rosette's life," he responded.

Of course, what Ron did not tell Roy was how revealing her scars in public was one of the main causes for her being upset at the current moment. He did not know that it hurt her so much, nor wanted to loose Mustang's trust in case it did harm her in any way.

Rosette ignored the boys waiting for her turn on the phone, from the look on her face, she was already preparing herself for her older brother's rage.

Alphonse finished the phone conversation and wanted to appear scared in the face. That was all that experience was. Horror. "B-brother, the phone's for you," he muttered weakly, hanging his brother the phone.

Edward inwardly cringed but took the phone nevertheless, steeling himself for the yelling he'd have to possibly put up with. "Yeah, Colonel?" he said, trying his hardest not to wince. He was even nice enough to say his title instead of his usual "disrespectful" address.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Roy's voice was too calm, and Edward could almost see that the colonel had his fingers near the phone, ready to try to flame him over the phone.

'I'm so dead...' was the boy's only thought. Sucking in a breath, he put up his brave front. "Yes, for the most part," Ed replied. "She's a little shaken up with maybe a few ...cuts, but she's not seriously injured."

"Cuts! What do you mean by cuts?" Roy roared into the phone. "Damnit, I _knew_ I should have gone myself...!"

The boy held the phone away from his ear as soon as he heard the man yell. He was deafening. Once his superior was finished ranting, he spoke. "Hey, at least she's alive! Me and Al made sure that she didn't break any limbs. No one expected to bump into a homunculus there!" Ed argued back, sounding like his usual self. He instantly regretted saying his first sentence when silence was heard on the other side of the line. The pure fact that she could have died made it even worse.

"Homunculus! What in the HELL was she doing near a Homunculus?! I suppose you completely forgot my order not to allow her near that so-called healer didn't you?" There was death in his voice. The colonel eyebrow was twitching madly now, and even Hawkeye was edging towards the door.

"What did you want me to do? Chain her chair into the ground!?" Ed demanded, feeling his temper rise like usual. "She went out to 'clear her mind.' We didn't think the healer would show himself like that. Besides that, Ronald obviously didn't tell you some things..."

Ronald heard Edward and shot a glare at him. That was a detail he didn't want the man to discover. Now, it was clear that it was not his brightest idea.

Alphonse placed his hand over his iron mask, cringing. "Ed, calm down..." he whispered. "Yelling at Colonel Mustang isn't going to do anything."

"It's a thought." Roy growled, and then he paused. "What things?"

Ed looked over at the man in question and saw that he was being glared at. He did assume right. "Well, dumbass over there exposed her scars in public. Obviously, he wished for his wife-to-be to be 'perfect' looking for their wedding. That was what made Rose the 'perfect' target for the healer. Another thing, you won't have to worry about the healer any more. He was killed by the homunculus. We didn't even find out that it was another operation made by them until she came out of hiding," he explained.

"He did WHAT?!" Roy snarled, causing Rosette to almost fly out of her chair in fright.

"Yeah, so maybe you should redirect your rage towards someone else," the young man responded, after bringing back the phone to his ear once again. He was inwardly shaken, but kept his serious expression on. He also noted how Roy said nothing else regarding the homunculus. It was obvious that he placed his sister over everyone else in his mind. "It's his actions that caused this entire situation to blow out of proportion."

Roy cursed for a few minutes. "I see. How bad are your injuries?"

Edward felt his anger deflate a bit once he knew that Mustang's tone was calmer. "I don't know how bad they are. I just know that this is yet another time that I've been stabbed through the gut and lived. You can rest assured that I'm the one who is the most physically harmed," the alchemist replied with sarcasm in his voice, wondering if Roy did, in fact, take joy from hearing that.

"I see you followed that part of your orders, how long will you be in healing?" Roy asked.

Edward felt his eye twitch. He was right. Mustang did enjoy that news. He wanted to call him a bastard but knew that he'd suffer more of his wrath. Looking over at Alphonse, he asked him and received the answer. "According to Al, I'll be in here for about a week or longer. If you're so set on seeing Rose, you either should send someone else to get her or come here yourself." For some reason, Ed had a feeling that Roy would pick the second option and give everyone hell in person.

"I'll do just that Edward. Put her on. Now."

Shooting a glimpse at Rosette, he knew that she was in for the same type of treatment. "Okay then," he murmured, handing the woman the phone.

Rosette swallowed hard and took the phone. "Hi Roy. I'm just fine, not so much as a scratch."

Feeling as irritated as he was, the man skipped the greeting. "What were you thinking?!" he demanded. "Going out alone?"

"I just needed to think without everyone breathing down my neck, I only intended to be out for a few minutes." She replied.

"A few minutes?" he echoed while trying his force his voice to not sound booming. Unfortunately, it made his voice sound that much more feral. "And you didn't, for one minute, think about the possibility of the danger you placed yourself in after that earlier fiasco?!"

Rosette flinched. "Ed scared him pretty good, Al and Ron had to hold him back. The guy ran so fast I thought he'd skipped town altogether!" She smiled slightly, though hurt flashed though her eyes. "Of course I freaked him out too; he nearly knocked himself out..."

Roy let out a heavy sigh. "Rose, you need to think more. If Fullmetal or his brother hadn't been there, you could have..." He didn't finish the sentence. He knew what could have happened and he didn't want to think about it. By this time, his voice had calmed even though he was still pissed.

"I know... I know... Still, I made sure Ed was okay and made sure he was well cared for." Rosette said calmly. "I'm taking care of things as best I can."

"I'm just glad that you're okay. Don't think that the others are let off the hook as easily, though," he said his voice in a near growl by the end of the statement. He gave a small, possibly evil, smirk and rubbed his forefinger and thumb together, causing a spark. "And tell your fiancée that he's in for the time of his life when I show up..."

The redhead gulped hard, knowing her older brother could hear it. "Say what? I thought that the Führer wouldn't let you..."

"You let me deal with that," he murmured in an abnormally smooth voice. "You know the deal. Anyone who harms you deals with me."

She went as pale as milk. "The healer's dead Roy. And I don't think you could kill that lady... she made my skin crawl."

The colonel's eyebrow shot up. "What lady?" he questioned.

"The one that killed the healer with her fingernail... it looked wrong..." She paused. "It grew into a harpoon thingy and she impaled the guy with it."

"That must have been the homunculus..." he mused in thought. "Did she tell you any information regarding the healer and are you sure that you're okay?"

"She said that he was just another tool that they were using, she called him a weakling fool... and..." Rosette had to take a deep breath to steady her voice. "The lady also commented on my scars and said that they made a pleasant pattern... and she knew where I got them... at _the place_."

Mustang's eye twitched at that last bit of information. The second question had a clear answer. "Dammit... How did they find out... How did they know?" The questions were more directed towards himself.

"I don't know, but I almost peed in my chair." She admitted.

He shook his head in disbelief. How did such a small investigation turn into such a mess? This was what he got for sending Fullmetal out. Something always went wrong when he was on a mission. "I'll be over there in a day or two. Do you think you can hold out until then?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I'll be okay, I'm staying here at the hospital with everyone. I really don't want to be traveling alone anymore, that snake lady scared the pee outta me." The redhead didn't mention the nightmares.

"Alright then," Roy responded. "Before I go, I'd like to know how _Ronald_ treats you in front of the brothers." Ron's name was acidic on his tongue. It was clear that he thought lowly of him.

"He's been so sweet you'd need honey jars the size of oil drums, hasn't left my side since last night." Her tone was carefully neutral, letting her brother read between the lines.

"Ah, annoying as usual..." he commented, smirking. "You have the patience of a saint."

"I'll just be glad to see you; he's really looking forward to meeting you again." She replied, smiling brightly. "You'll give him a nice _warm_ welcome won't you brother?"

"Oh, you know me all too well," he replied, a near smile crossing his lips at the thought.

"I miss you, and please don't break you neck getting here." She said simply.

"I'll try not to," Mustang said in return. "I'll see you when I get there." He prepared to hang up the phone.

"Love you, bye." She hung up. "He's coming himself, two days." Rosette told the others.

Roy hung up the line and rose up from his seat. "Second Lieutenant Hawkeye. You may follow me if you wish. I am asking Führer Bradley if I can have a few days of leave," he explained in an authoritative tone.

Hawkeye looked startled, but rose quickly from her seat. "Is something wrong with your sister Sir?" She asked, falling into step behind Roy.

As he walked through out of his office and into the hallway, he gave a grave nod. "Some things have happened and now Fullmetal is injured. There will be a delay in her arriving her apparently."

"And you don't want to wait until Ed's healed to see her." Hawkeye finished. "Understood sir."

He smirked slightly before composing himself. It was obvious that Hawkeye knew him all too well. The two arrived in front of the large doors and he gave a quiet sigh before knocking.

"Come in." The Führer sounded calm as he put down the book that he had been reading.

The Colonel opened the doors, idly noting that there were no guards around. He entered with Hawkeye and closed the doors behind them. He gave a slight bow of respect before speaking. "Führer King Bradley, I would like to request a few days of absence."

Führer Bradley raised an eyebrow. "This is a surprise. May I ask why colonel Mustang?" He sounded concerned. Inside however, he was mentally seething over Lust's incompetence. If she had followed orders, Roy wouldn't be making this request at the moment! "Is there something wrong at home?"

Not particularly, but the Fullmetal Alchemist has delayed his return back due to injury and he was assigned to bring back someone for me to see," he said calmly, not wanting to give out excessive information if he could get away with it.

"I see. And you don't want to wait overly long?" The Fuhrer smiled. "I think we can spare you for a week or two, provided that you aren't behind on your paperwork Colonel. Is your sister still writing? You should consider bringing her here, she'll get more exposure."

Roy forced a polite smile. "As usual, Sir," he replied. "And I'll be sure to get my paperwork done." Inwardly, he hated doing work of that nature, but he knew it was a small price to pay so long as he got to see Rosette.

"By the way, how did she like that typewriter? You never told me." Now the Fuhrer sounded like a parent who had just caught his son with his hand in the cookie jar and was trying not to laugh.

Mustang managed a laugh. "She couldn't have been happier when I gave it to her."

"You know of course, that only Alchemists are allowed in the Central library. She won't be very happy when she finds out about that, though I think she'll find a way to sneak in at one point or another. Keep a close eye on her; I wouldn't want her getting into trouble." He chuckled. "If you do bring her here, I'd be happy to meet the girl who has you wrapped around her little fingers."

Once again, there was a forced smile. "I'll be sure to bring her by when she arrives," he said. "And thank you for your kindness, sir," he added, bowing slightly again. "I'll be sure to keep a close watch on her."

"Thank you. After all, we don't want a repeat of last time do we?" With a wink, he stood and escorted Mustang to the door. "Have a good trip Colonel."

"I will," he assured him, walking out of the room with Hawkeye in tow.

Thinking back to the Furher's earlier comment, he smirked. "I wonder who's worse to watch over... Rose or Fullmetal?"

"I would say your sister, considering you live with her." Hawkeye replied. "They have a nickname for her that hasn't been stomped out yet."

He let out a small chuckle. "True... I'm sure this will be fun..." Looking over at his most trusted friend, he asked, "Would you mind accompanying me?"

"Of course, someone needs to get rid of the evidence." Hawkeye said calmly, although there was a glint in her eye as she spoke.

"Of course," he hummed in agreement.


	5. The Love of Siblings

Author's Note: I know it's been _forever_ since my last update, but it took me quite a while to track down Turtlequeen2. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep track of her long enough for another chapter or two, but I can't make any promises. Please leave a review if you have the time. I also have a website now if you'd like to keep track of this or any of my other stories.

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Staring out the window, Roy Mustang looked completely calm as he listened to the sounds of the moving train. Hawkeye however, knew better than that. She knew from the too-calm expression that the least little thing could make him blow up. Sitting across from him, she held her tongue, wishing that she know what her companion was thinking.

'_I can't believe how reckless Fullmetal is! Not to mention that bastard so-called fiancée of hers!_' Roy inwardly raged as he continued to stare out of the window of the train. '_I can only hope one of them gives me the legitimate excuse to use my flames on them..._' he continued to seethe.

"Sir?" Hawkeye said nervously, pointing at his hand and the sparks that were emerging.

Roy blinked, looking down at the at the glove. Controlling his boiling rage, he stopped the sparks from becoming a small flame. He then looked back up at Hawkeye, wondering if she had anything to say. "Lieutenant?"

"We should be there soon, please try to control yourself. I doubt Rosette would be happy to learn you died in a fire of your own making."

The colonel sighed, showing her rare emotions that he hardly showed to his other men. "I will," he murmured. '_Besides, I wouldn't plan on dying before scolding a few idiots in more ways than one..._'

An hour later, Hawkeye stood when the train had stopped. "I'll go to the inn there were staying on the off chance one of them is there." She stated. "Don't kill anyone until I get there."

Roy stood up after her. "You don't need to worry, Lieutenant," he assured the woman. After having exited the train, he walked over to where the hospital of the town was located. Once he entered the building and showed the receptionist his identity, he was led to the room where the group he was after were currently staying.

When Edward noticed Roy enter the room, he inwardly cringed. '_I'm going to die, aren't I?_' he mentally remarked, already seeing his superior's eyes sparking with rage.

Before anyone could say anything, Al raised one hand and put it where his lips would have been, then pointed at Rosette. The redhead had fallen asleep in her wheelchair, and the dark circles under her eyes told Roy that she'd been having 'those dreams' again.

The colonel glanced over at his sister and knew that he couldn't wake her. Walking over to Edward, he murmured, "Can you stand?"

The state alchemist shook his head. "If I could, I'd be out of this place by now," he replied in a quiet voice.

Now knowing that he couldn't scold the Elric brothers until Rosette woke up, he turned his sights on his sister's fiancée.

Ronald looked at the Flame Alchemist and inwardly quaked, but did good to present himself with a friendly disposition. "Is there something you want to speak to me about?" he asked, not bothering to pay any mind to Rose's sleeping.

Roy's eyes narrowed at the man, knowing that if his sister woke up due to Ronald's insensitivity, he would not wait for Hawkeye to show up.

Rose made a quiet noise of protest and frowned, but didn't wake.

Relieved that his sister did not stir too much, the colonel walked over to the other man and silently urged him to follow him out of the room. As soon as the door securely shut and Roy was far enough away from the area, his eyes practically smoldered with anger. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he snapped.

Ronald resisted the urge to step away from the military official as he heard his yell. Taking in a deep breath, he explained, "I only sought to get Rose better from her condition."

"How many times do me and other people have to tell you that she's sensitive to being put in that type of situation?!" Roy continued to rant. "You don't understand a damn thing she went through!"

The other man cringed slightly upon hearing this remark. "I _do_ understand how much of a bad condition she is in," he protested.

The alchemist's glove sparked once, but he managed to control the flame and put it out. "Putting her through such false promise over and over will not help her get better! You should understand that by now. No amount of alchemy will help her get treatment!" His eyes narrowed even more. "Thanks to your stupidity, you almost got her _killed_!"

The once arrogant Ronald seemed to shrivel down into a scared little boy at the wake of Roy's anger. However, after he took a few minutes to recover from Mustang's attacks, he calmly replied, "Maybe I was a bit out of line for introducing her to that man, but I only had her best interest at heart!" His own eyes narrowed slightly at Rose's brother. "I don't think you coddling her will help her recover either! If there's a chance of helping her recover, then you should allow her to try it!"

Roy didn't like Ronald's retort at all. "Don't you think we've already tried?" he snapped. "That's how I know that normal medical treatments and alchemy haven't worked! And whether or not I do what you claim to 'coddling' is not going to stop me to protect her from idiots like you! I'm like this because there's always false prophets off to tempt her to their side! It's not in my interest to see her die."

"She'll be _my_ wife soon." Ronald snapped back."

'_Not if I have my way with you..._' Roy inwardly hissed, feeling his gloves growing more waxy with the build up of wanting to let flames out. "I can easily change that," he growled.

"At the very least, she needs to learn the basics of alchemy," Ronald replied,

"Absolutely _not_!" the state alchemist spat.

"Why not? Your an Alchemist."

"I chose to be this way because I have things I want to accomplish," Roy answered. "Alchemy isn't a wonder elixir that can fix all of the world's problems and learning it only brings the person complications and dangers. Rosette doesn't need anymore trauma to go through."

"There you go again! She needs to get stronger and the only way that's going to happen is if she learns how to use what she has!"

"Alchemy isn't going to be what can make her that way!" the colonel snapped.

"Neither is keeping her safely under your thumb! I want her to make something of herself."

"There's plenty of other ways that she can make something of herself!" the alchemist argued. "Alchemy isn't one of them!"

Al clanked into the hallway just as a scream was heard. "Now you did it! You made her start screaming again."

'_Again?_' Roy repeated to himself before looking back at his sister's fiancée. Glancing back at Alphonse with murderous intent in his eyes, he made a quick decision. "Go back into the room, Elric," he ordered in a stern tone. He knew if a child saw what he was about to do, they would most likely be traumatized.

He gulped, but did as he was told.

"And as for you," Mustang snapped, turning towards Ronald with his fingers practically dancing with spark. "Say goodbye." Raising his right gloved hand, he snapped his thumb and index finger together, sending forth and tall but controlled column of fire that managed to burn the man to a crisp. The man burned so quick that he didn't even have time to scream as he died.

As he watched the flames begin to die down, Roy's irritation abated slightly. '_One idiot down..._' he told himself before walking back into Edward's room to see if he could console his sister.

Al was holding her tightly as the girl fought him in her sleep, or tried to anyway. "This has been happening ever since we called you Sir."

"Move," Roy ordered Alphonse, quickly taking Rosette from the suit of armor and hugging her close to himself, not caring who saw. With his arms around her, he began to rock her slowly, gently murmuring, "It's okay, I'm here now. You're older brother won't let the fire eat you anymore..."

Edward's eyes opened wide in stupefied shock. '_He really _is_ close to her!_' he thought to himself. He had never seen the colonel being so vulnerable and emotionally exposed in such a manner before!

She quieted after several minutes and opened her sleepy gray eyes. "Roy?" She murmured soft, her voice slightly raspy. "What happened?"

"You were having those dreams again," the colonel murmured in a soft voice, his eyes softening only when looking at her.

"I musta fell asleep... sorry." She yawned. "Is everybody else okay?" The redhead cuddled close for a moment in apology.

"I'm fine Rosette." Al said, grateful his knees weren't shaking.

"Uh... What happened to that other guy?" Edward asked, seeming to be the only one lost out of the loop.

Rose rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You can put me back now; I'm heavy for you Roy."

Roy nodded his head and carefully placed Rosette back into her wheelchair. Standing back up, he turned to Edward. "He's been taken care of," he stated in a sharp tone.

The young state alchemist paled slightly, seeming to understand what his colonel meant.

"I'm going to get a drink, you want anything Roy?" She asked, still trying to wake up.

"No, I'm fine," Roy replied calmly.

Al watched rather nervously as, with a still somewhat sleepy smile, Rosette left the room and tactfully gave her adored brother permission to yell at the Elrics if he chose to do so. He knew that they were both in for it now!

The state alchemist's eyes narrowed on the older brother as soon as Rosette left the room. The rare display of comforting emotions was long gone and was now replaced with a level of anger Edward had hardly seen on the colonel's face. "Fullmetal," he snapped. Looking back at Alphonse, he added, "You two, Alphonse."

Edward inwardly cringed again, but maintained his usual defiant stare towards his superior.

Al shifted nervously from foot to foot, wishing Rosette hadn't left.

"Would you care to explain _why_ you two allowed Rosette to be subjugated to such danger?" Roy demanded, practically barking at the two men.

The youngest state alchemist sat upright, trying not to avert his eyes from Mustang's question. "It wasn't like we put her in that situation," he pointed out.

"And yet you didn't _prevent_ it either, did you?" the colonel snapped in return.

Edward knew that the colonel had a bit of a point there. '_Dammit... how were we supposed to know that the colonel was psycho protective over his sister?!_' he inwardly growled.

Al mustered his courage. "The first time was Ronald's fault sir; we weren't fast enough to stop him before he exposed her. As for the second: She wanted some privacy, and a suit of armor isn't very quiet. We didn't want to be accused of spying on her."

The Flame Alchemist turned his full attention on Alphonse upon hearing the young man's explanation. "You let her go out there alone, _knowing_ that that lunatic was still in the town?!" he growled. "I believe I gave you two, _namely Fullmetal_, an order to protect her no matter the costs!"

Edward's eye twitched slightly, knowing that the two had made a mistake now. "...In our defense, we had _no_ previous knowledge of homunculi being involved in this or being around at the time!" he argued back.

Roy glared at his subordinate at this reply. "Yes, you had _no clue_ of that knowledge until it was nearly too late. You are in the _military_, Fullmetal!" he replied sharply. "You should know better than most that you should expect _anything_ when involving a suspected enemy!"

"The homunculi didn't hurt Rosette at all, and we stopped the phony healer before he touched her. He never laid a hand on her." Al stammered.

The young state alchemist felt his temper rise slightly despite knowing how much trouble him and his brother were in. "You at least should be happy that prevented her from being killed!" he added, narrowing his eyes slightly. "If anyone got physically harmed in that battle at all, it was me!"

Roy knew that despite how protective he was towards his sister, the two brothers were somewhat right. They were still practically children in his eyes. Letting out a deep breath in an attempt to calm his anger, he replied, "Then your injuries are punishment enough." Managing one final glare at the two boys, the Flame Alchemist added, "You two should better than most. Emotional wounds scar just as much as physical ones."

Al exchanged a look with his brother, concerned.

Edward, who seemed prepared to come up with a smart-aleck retort, paused when Roy added that sentence. When he saw his brother look at him, he sighed, calming himself down. 'He's definitely right about that...' he mentally murmured, thanking back to the night him and his brother tried to bring their mother back to life.

"_Should we mention Lust's interest in her?_" Al asked his brother privately.

"_...Do we want to die?_" Edward returned to his younger sibling.

Rosette sighed and looked at her watch. "Should I go rescue them or wait a few more minutes?" She debated aloud.

Hawkeye glanced over at the other woman and shook her head. "We'll wait a few minutes," she murmured. "I think he needs to vent for a few moments... Through the entire trip up here, the colonel has been very stressed and worried about your condition. It's not the first time that those boys have changed around his plans."

"I agree. I missed Roy too." The redhead said quietly.

The other young woman shook her head and sighed. "He practically caught the train on fire several times!"

"Say what! He's never done that before." she exclaimed. "He's usually very careful!"

Hawkeye nodded her head in agreement. "For as long as I've been around him, he's usually been able to keep his anger under control, without even intentionally calling upon his flames, they started sparking out of his gloves when he started to think about your fiancée and the Elric brothers."

"Oh dear..." She shot a worried look down the hallway. "Maybe we should rescue them after all..."

Riza sighed. "I'm pretty certain that he won't harm the Elric brothers... It's your fiancée, I'm more worried about," she admitted.

"I wouldn't be at all surprised if he were dead already. I nearly killed him myself several times."

The second lieutenant raised her eyebrow at the woman. Did that mean that Rosette didn't care about her fiancée? Seeing how her personality was, Riza could understand why Roy liked his sister so much. "So... you wouldn't be upset if the colonel killed him?" she asked.

"Nope. I'd say it was his own fault for forcing himself where he wasn't welcome." Rosette bushed her short hair out of her eyes. "I'm more worried about what Roy's gonna do when he finally notices my haircut."

Hawkeye couldn't help but chuckle at the woman's explanation. "...I think a few minutes have passed," she finally remarked. "Don't you think?"

"Yeah, and I didn't hear anything go boom..." She raised her eyebrow.

"That's possibly a good thing," the military officer replied. Looking down at the woman, she suggested, "You can lead the way."

Rosette nodded and rolled down the hall, then stopped in her tracks with a squeal of rubber. "Well..."

Hawkeye stopped when the girl in front of her stopped rolling forward. Following Rosette's eyes, the second lieutenant saw the pile of ash on the ground. 'Oh no...' she inwardly groaned. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she added, 'I told him not to kill anyone until I arrived!'

Rosette took a deep breath. "Oy." Then she rolled around the pile to open up the door. "Look who I found Roy!"

Roy blinked when his sister and his other subordinate came into the room. "Rosette," he remarked, not feeling any remorse for killing her fiancée.

Rosette sighed and hugged her brother. "You coulda barrowed my frying pan if you were that mad."

The man returned the embrace without hesitation before pulling back to respond. "I would have considered sparing his life if he would have avoided saying such stupid things," he replied.

"You're lucky you weren't with us on the train." Rosette muttered, running her hands nervously though her hair.

"I don't want to imagine how idiotic he sounded when I wasn't around," Roy admitted, having dealt with Ronald before.

Al snorted "It wasn't listening that Rose had to worry about."

Rosette blushed. "Al!"

The colonel noticed his sister's blush, but paused when he finally realized that Rosette had changed something about herself. The man narrowed his eyes slightly. "...You... _cut_ your _hair_?!" he declared, in a state of both shock and irritation.

"I had to. He wouldn't leave it alone!" She replied, going red, then pale, and back again.

"...I went from not caring that I killed him to _happy_ that I did!" Roy shouted, hating Ronald more than ever.

"It'll grow back." Rose told him anxiously.

"Hair does do that Colonel." Hawkeye pointed out, eyeing Roy's glove again.

The Flame Alchemist's temper abated slightly at their remarks. "Well, I can't say I'm upset for ruining your chances at a wedding with that idiot," he admitted to his sister.

"That was kinda the plan. He got all mad and shouted that now my hair was short, he'd have to wait until it grew to a decent length." Rosette admitted.

"...So you did it on purpose to prolong it?" Roy asked, blinking.

"More or less, yeah. I think I like it short though."

"...._What_?" the older sibling remarked, having a double take of her words.

Nervously she ran her hands though it again. "It felt weird at first, but I think I could get used to it. The guys should leave me alone now that I look like one."

"Did I just hear you correctly?" Roy asked, stunned by her words. "You _want_ to look like a man?"

"You need it trimmed a little though, did you use a knife?" Hawkeye added.

The redhead answered the questions in order. "Yes, you did. No, I don't like it, but it beats the alternative. And yes, I used a big knife."

Roy's eye twitched. "...Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack, Rose?" he demanded upon hearing about the knife.

At Roy's questioning look, she looked confused. "The one that mother used for the turkey? It wasn't _that_ big Roy."

"That's even _worse_ than what I imagined!" the older man snapped back.

Edward, who watched the entire exchange silently beside his brother, looked over at Alphonse. "_For some reason... The colonel and Rosette's relationship reminds me of us..._" he silently told his brother.

"What? What'd I do now?" Rosette just looked puzzled.

"_She has him wrapped around her fingers._" Al added, seeing Roy fall to pieces under his sister's innocent gaze.

"_Yeah... but you have to admit... It's pretty hilarious,_" the state alchemist mentally snickered. "_It's hard to believe this is the same man who yells at me on a weekly basis._"

Mustang shook his head. "As soon as Fullmetal recovers, we're leaving," he announced. He'd rather not hear about another dangerous thing his sister had done or else he would risk keeling over.

"Did I mention I made the typewriter go boom when I tried to pack it secretly and I need a new one?" She added in a small voice.

Roy felt his fists clench up when he heard those words. "...We'll buy you a new one when we get to Central," he murmured, trying to keep his temper in check.

"Thank you Roy." She smiled at him happily.

The colonel paused, letting out a heavy sigh when he saw her smile. "I know I'm going to regret asking this, but _how_ does one make a typewriter go 'boom'?"

"I couldn't shut the lid of the suitcase, so I tried to sit on it." Rosette admitted.

Roy sighed again, shaking his head. "If you sit on another typewriter, I'm not buying you a replacement again," he replied.

Rosette looked puzzled again "I wasn't sitting on the typewriter Roy, I was sitting on the suitcase."

"...If you sit on anything that causes a typewriter to break, I'm not replacing it next time," the colonel corrected.

Edward shot another look at Alphonse upon hearing Rosette's remark about the typewriter. Being the young teenager he was, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh at her seemingly innocent explanation.

"_This is going to be interesting Ed. I take it we are detouring to Central? I wonder if it will survive the 'booms'..._" Al commented.

"_I hope so,_" Edward replied, laughing a bit more.


	6. Arrival causes interest in high places

Author's note: Once again, thank you to turtlequeen2 for all of your help with this chapter, with any luck we should be updating more often now. Please forgive the lateness of this chapter and please remember to leave a review.

* * *

A week later, Edward's injuries were finally healed enough that he was allowed to leave the hospital. Roy wasted no time getting the earliest train he could manage that was bound for Central.

Edward and Alphonse sat across from each other in one section of the moving train while Riza sat across from Roy and Rosette in another section. The sections were across the aisle from each other so both groups could get a clear view of each other.

The youngest state alchemist leaned onto his hand as he watched Roy interact with Rosette. It seemed that whenever the colonel was around his sister, he would act almost as if he were a complete different person. Edward had to admit that he liked Rose around the older man because he acted less like an "bastard" with her beside him.

Rosette was hard at work writing, her notebook balanced on the arm of her chair. Sometimes she would look off into space, other times she would notice the Elrics looking at her and smile at them.

'_She looks happy._' Al commented. '_It looks like she's getting a lot done too._'

Edward nodded his head in agreement. '_There's probably two reasons for this... That bastard she was betrothed to is now charred ashes and she's now with the colonel..._' he noted with a twinge of sarcasm.

'_I didn't think the colonel would actually kill Ronald in the hospital though... you think he'll get in trouble for it?_' Al asked with a shiver.

'_Knowing him... probably not,_' Edward thought with a roll of his eyes. '_He's good at pulling strings, you know._'

'_I don't know... I doubt the Fuhrer will be happy about this..._'

The state alchemist shrugged his shoulders. '_I guess we'll find out when we get to Central..._'

"Roy?" Rosette asked, nibbling on the top on her pen. "Do you think they'll like me in Central? And is it true that they have the biggest library?"

The colonel raised his eyebrow, looking down at his sister. "Of course they'll like you, Rose," he answered. "Why wouldn't they?" He then nodded his head at her other question. "It's the biggest library in Amestris. That's for certain."

"It is also true that it's only for alchemists who serve in the military?"

Roy paused, already having to figure out how to get around that problem. He knew he couldn't very well sneak her past security. Not only would that be problematic for her if she was found out, but he would also be severely scolded for it as well. "...This is where a version of equivalent exchange comes in," he remarked with a smug look on his face. "I'm going to get you a job there once it's fully refurnished."

She dropped her pen. "Really Roy? I thought you had to be in the military to work there too!"

The older man's facial expression grew solemn for a few moments as he replied, "Brigadier General Hughes managed to get a woman to work there even though she was never in the military beforehand. She was just a librarian before she was hired."

"Wow. I hope you can get me in... I'm not a librarian, I just love to read and write..." She frowned. "Would that mean I'll be in the military too if I work there?"

"Well, if you can get in and learn to manage not reading during your shift, you can read all the books in there you want during your off time," Roy replied, his mood lifting at her response.

Rosette laughed and took back the pen she'd dropped from her brother. "I'll try my best Roy, but what's the exchange for you getting me the job?"

"Well, if you can get in and learn to manage not reading during your shift, you can read all the books in there you want during your off time," Roy replied, his mood lifting at her response.

Rosette laughed and took back the pen she'd dropped from her brother. "I'll try my best Roy, but what's the exchange for you getting me the job?"

The older man innocently raised his eyebrow at her question. "And why would you think I'd want any payment from you?" he asked.

"You said it was 'equivalent exchange', you've never used that term lightly before, and I know you aren't doing it now." Rose pointed out, running a hand through her short red hair and shooting him a look.

The colonel sighed, knowing that she knew him all too well. "I have one simple request," he admitted.

"I'm listening Roy." Her voice was serious, a sure sign that this wasn't a joking matter to her.

"Try to stay out of trouble," Roy replied, his expression growing hard as well. "There's a lot of shady people in Central that you need to stay clear of."

"I never look for trouble, but it always finds me." His younger sister said calmly. "I'll assume dating is out of the question as well?"

The older man nodded. "You got it," he remarked. "Except for a select few, I don't trust anyone around me."

"What do I do if someone flirts with me, one of your co-workers for example?"

"I'll take care of it," Roy replied in a relatively calm manner. However, his dark eyes glimmered, showing that he planned far more than to speak with them civilly.

Seeing the glimmer in his eyes, Rosette sighed. "Oh Roy..."

As soon as the rag-tag group returned to Central, they were called into the Fuhrer's office. Upon being granted permission to enter, Colonel Mustang already knew what was going to come to him.

Rosette's gray eyes danced in humor, but she bowed her head respectfully to Fuhrer King Bradley.

Keeping his friendly mask in place, he studied the girl that was the reason Roy was now in such a mess. "Well Colonel, I hear you've had quite the adventure."

Roy stifled the sigh that wanted to be let out. "Yes, you could say that, Sir," he replied in as formal a tone as he could manage.

"I suppose you have a good reason, though I believe your intentions were to bring him alive." The Fuhrer said. "Would you please explain yourself?"

"The man endangered the lives of my sister and the Elric Brothers by being foolish and inviting danger to their doorstep," the colonel calmly explained, standing his ground and knowing that if he had the chance to re-live that moment, he would have done it again.

"That may be, but it sets a very bad example for the rest." Inwardly seething at Lust's incompetence, he frowned at Mustang. "Will she be a problem?"

"I will take full responsibility for my actions," Roy responded with his head slightly bowed out of respect. "And no, my sister will be of no problem to anyone in this building."

The entire time, Rosette had kept her head bowed, silently staying at Roy's side.

The Fuhrer slowly peered over the group with his one uncovered eye, surveying their submissive stances as he contemplated what to do to the colonel. "This cannot be left alone that easily," he addressed in a stern tone, his facial expression growing serious. "An incident like that could have sparked panic if others have seen you. We have enough battles to fight without our soldiers starting riots, Colonel Mustang."

Roy felt himself frown, knowing that his superior had a point. "I apologize for my carelessness and will assure you that it will never happen again," he remarked, looking up at Bradley.

"See to it that it doesn't," Bradley replied. "As for your punishment..." He left the sentence hanging for dramatic effect before his friendly mask was placed back onto his face. "All of the paper work that was due by the end of this month will now be due in two days."

The colonel nearly fell over at the Fuhrer's words. Clearly, someone should get a much heavier fine than that?! Trying hard to keep up appearances, Roy swallowed a deep breath. "It will be done," he stated.

"Oh, and just to make sure you keep up with your work, I will strip you of any breaks you get for the month," Bradley added, making Roy flinch.

Rosette bit her lower lip, fighting the urge to laugh at her brother, but kept her head down so no one would see. 'Roy's not gonna be happy!" She thought.

Edward, who had been listening intently to the conversation, lowered his head to prevent himself from snickering. '_Good enough for the bastard!_' he inwardly laughed, loving how Bradley knew his subordinates well.

The Fuhrer walked out from behind his large desk and approached Rosette. Reaching his hand out and not caring what anyone else's reaction would be, he placed the hand under the young woman's chin and tilted her head up. His one eye inspected her as if she were on display at a museum.

Roy had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from speaking out of turn. He didn't feel very highly of Bradley in secret and so it wasn't a surprise that he disliked the man touching his sister.

Rosette appeared to stop breathing as she felt her head gently lifted by his hand; her eyes however were fearless as she looked directly into the Fuhrer's. A glint of amusement flickered in them as her soft full pink lips twitched in a faint smile that made a dimple flash at him, privately congratulating him on the cleverness of her brother's 'punishment' as though it was a secret joke just between them.

After a few minutes of looking over the woman, Bradley removed his hand and stepped away, a faint smile on his lips as well. "I would be very sure to take good care of her, Mustang," he advised. "You wouldn't want anything to happen to her around here."

"I intend to, Sir," Roy replied, still inwardly annoyed at how the older man touched his sister. He also couldn't figure out if Bradley was indirectly threatening him or not, but decided to keep such thoughts to himself.

The Fuhrer paused, thinking over what he saw in the woman. He felt as if this girl could prove useful to him and his other allies or could help bring upon their destruction for reasons he couldn't explain. Forcing himself to keep up the pleasantries, he waved them off. "You are all dismissed," he finally stated, waiting for them to leave his sights.

"Thank you for your time milord." Rose said quietly, speaking for the first time. "I'll try and keep my brother out of trouble." Her tone slightly edged in velvet-coated steel as she added. "Even if I have to put him on a leash."

As Bradley watched them exit the room, he frowned slightly. He had a feeling that she would be even _more_ trouble than Roy _ever_ was.

"Well? What did you think of the little rabbit?" An amused sultry voice asked as the hidden door to his bookshelf sprang open after they left.

"She will be challenging to tame for certain," the Fuhrer, otherwise known as Pride, observed in an annoyed tone.

"You make it sound like she'll be a problem." Lust was amused. "Don't tell me you are wishing for your younger days..."

The aging homunculi cast a glare at the woman, clearly not in the mood to be messed with. "In any case, since _you_ failed your objective, we need some other way to get to her," he remarked dryly.

"Why should we bother with her at all Pride? She'll be busy enough making a mess here trying to fit in." Lust sat on the corner of his desk. "Did you really see something that interesting in her eyes? I've certainly never seen you touch someone in that manner..."

"There was _some_ type of reason as to why Mustang risked his life to save hers," the man remarked. "Just because she's unable to walk doesn't mean she doesn't have good support around her."

She scoffed openly at Pride. "He was hardly risking his life and why wouldn't Mustang save her, she's his little _sister_." She turned her head. "Envy, what do you think of the rabbit?"

Envy stepped out of the shadows, mildly amused at their bickering. "I think I'll enjoy _playing_ with her..." he said with a smirk. "I've been meaning to let myself have a little fun since it's been so horribly boring sitting around and listening to you two go on and on all day."

Pride smirked. "What exactly did you have in mind for the girl? You aren't bothered by her wheelchair I trust?"

"Nope, not in the least," the androgynous homunculus replied. "It's a nice change of pace, I suppose."

Lust sighed. "I highly doubt you'll be capable of keeping her attentions, after all, you aren't the romantic type."

Envy raised his eyebrow. "Who said I'd have to be in _this_ form to approach her?" he tossed back. "I've always been a good actor, you know."

"Not that good, and you've never had to woo a woman either." Lust shot back.

"I guess this will be a learning experience for all of us," Envy chuckled, finding himself in high spirits.

Pride smirked. "I'd be happy to offer lessons, provided Envy can still his tongue and not scare her away..."

The green-haired homunculus narrowed his eyes at his younger "sibling" of sorts. "Ha, ha, very funny," he replied with heavily implied sarcasm.

"How will you go about this?" Pride asks.

"It's rather simple, really," Envy remarked. "Gain her trust and then set the trap."

"I trust you'll make her happy before you kill her?" Pride raised an eyebrow.

The other homunculus shrugged. "If that's what it takes."

Lust smiled. "Let her die happy thinking she is loved, otherwise Mustang will do to you as he did to the last one."

Envy found himself cringing slightly. "...I don't think I'd enjoy being roasted alive fifty times over..." he murmured more to himself.

"Just remember that fate if you make her cry." Pride nodded.

Heaving a sigh, Envy walked past the pair and paused, mentally and physically willing his body to transform into a clone of a standard military officer. "I think I'll go figure out which form would best suit the cause..." he announced, moving towards the door.

Lust snickered after Envy left. "Care to make a bet Pride? I'll even let you go first…"

Once the disguised homunculus stepped out of the room, he decided to go "evaluate" his prey. Walking down the large corridors of the military building, he decided to go look at where the girl was most likely at; Roy Mustang's office.

Already, Rosette was turning everything upside down, but doing it so cheerfully that she seemed to be a force of nature that her older brother seemed completely powerless to stop as she tidied up his office. "..I'll bring your meals to you so that you can keep right on working." The redhead told Roy with a kind smile.

Roy was now _reeling_, finally feeling the full force of the punishment handed down to him. He let out a heavy sigh, hanging his head down behind his desk that was literally covered with stacks of papers just waiting to be filled out by his hand.

"Would you like some coffee Roy?" She asked him, patting his shoulder encouragingly.

"...That would be very nice..." the older sibling murmured with another defeated exhale of breath. "It's not like I'm going to be sleeping anytime soon...."

"How do you take it? I'll bring you a big mug."

"...Put a _lot_ of sugar in it. No cream," the colonel answered.

"Do you want something to eat too?"

The young man shrugged. "I suppose I could use small sandwich to tie me over for the night," he answered. It wasn't as if he truly had the time to eat a big meal in the first place.

Lieutenant Hawkeye made sure to emphasize the same point he thought. "Colonel, I'm hoping you're planning to eat _while_ you're working?" she remarked in a serious voice, knowing very well that Mustang was good procrastinator.

"Yes, of course," Roy sighed, knowing that Hawkeye wouldn't let him slack off this time around.

Flashing a thankful smile as Hawkeye, Roy's little sister drove out of the room and rolled down the hall, only to break quickly to avoid running into Envy "I'm sorry. Are you all right sir?"

Envy's eyes narrowed in annoyance, about the snap back at the woman before he realized just who he was looking at. Forcing his temper down to a simmer, the homunculus forced a smile. "Yes, I'm fine," he remarked, his voice changed completely into a smooth tenor sound. "I should have watched where I was going..." Blinking down at Rosette, he then asked, "Why are you in such a hurry?"

She blushed like a blooming rose at the sound of his voice and mentally kicked herself for her bad driving, embarrassed, she dropped her eyes in respect so she wasn't looking at his face. "I was assigned to get some food, and I was trying to hurry since I'm not really sure of my way around so I don't take too long." Rosette smiled apologetically. "Sorry to have bothered you."

Having decided on a final form fast, Envy quickly changed his body's composition within the uniform. Certain that she hadn't stared up at him long enough, he knew that she wouldn't have noticed any changes in his features. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smirking when he saw Rosette blush. 'This is going to be much easier than I thought...' he mentally snickered before putting up his cheerful act and verbally replying, "Oh, it's no problem at all!" He made sure to use the same voice as he spoke to her. "In fact, if you want, I could help you get to the cafeteria," he then offered.

"That would be very helpful. Thank you very much." She smiled again. "This place is a maze..."

Envy's present green eyes seemed to brighten with pleasantness despite his true thoughts on the matter. His short black hair was neatly tucked under the military officer's hat as he bit back another smirk at the sight of her innocent smile. "It isn't that bad once you get used to it," he remarked. Once he heard her brakes unlock, he began to walk. "I take it that you're not from around here?"

"No, I'm visiting my brother." Rosette rolled alongside but slightly behind him.

The homunculus nodded his head, continuing to act the part of an innocent soldier. "Oh?" he remarked, sounding interested. "Would it be rude of me to ask who your brother is?"

"Colonel Roy Mustang." She snuck a glance at him from the corner of her gray eyes, admiring him.

Envy paused in his walk, appearing a bit surprised at her words. Looking down at her, his eyes widened. "So you're that woman this entire base as been talking about this whole day!" he remarked. "...Rosette, right?"

"Oh my... has word really spread that quickly?" The redhead looked chagrined. "Oops... I'm Rosette yes."

The "officer" allowed himself to smirk this time. "Should I be worried about the Colonel coming to flame me alive for speaking to you?" he asked in an amused tone.

"No, he won't hurt you, not if you are polite to me." Rosette smiled. "No flirting though, Roy doesn't like that very much."

"Ah, I understand then," Envy chuckled, flashing her a smile of his own. He then blinked. "Oh, where's my manners?" he admonished before bowing his head with slight respect. "I'm known as First Lieutenant Mark Stone."

"It is very nice to meet you Lieutenant Stone." She bowed her head in return, rolling smoothly at his side.

He continued to grin as he led her down another corridor of Central. "So is it true that you're scaring many people with your kindness?" he asked. "I've heard that from others around here."

"I don't know why people would be scared of me." She said with a frown.

"...Probably because not everyone in the military is nice," Envy explained with a shrug. "Kindness is more like a luxury in a place like this."

She sighed. "Are we close to the cafeteria now?" Rosette looked around. "All the halls look alike, so I can't tell."

The homunculus stopped in front of a set of large double doors. "We're already here," he murmured with an amused smirk. He stepped in front of Rosette in order to pull the door open and let her inside.

Rosette froze for a moment, then seemed to take herself in hand, and straightened her shoulders before rolling inside.

After following her inside of the crowded cafeteria, he asked, "Would you like me to stay in order to escort you back to Colonel Mustang's office?"

"Yes please, that would be very kind of you." Her voice was nervous and quiet. "I won't be long."

"Take your time," Envy remarked, his tone warm. "I'm on break for another hour so there's no need to rush for my sake."

The redhead beamed in wordless gratitude before rolling away and picking up a tray to select the food, feeling Envy's warm gaze on her.

The homunculus inwardly snickered. 'Humans are so gullible...' he thought to himself as he watched the young woman move through the line. Though, the male had to admit that Rosette had her own attractive quirks about her for a _human_ woman.

After getting the coffee, the girl carefully balanced the tray in her lap and slowly rolled back towards Envy, the concentration on her sweet face said she was doing her best not to spill anything.

Envy found himself a bit amused at her ability to balance things on her lap. "...Do you need help with any of that?" he asked, pulling open the cafeteria door in order for her to exit.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd hate to spill something..."

Instead of taking one item or two, the "man" bent down to pick up the entire tray. "I'll give it back to you before you get to the Colonel's office to give off the illusion that you carried it all the way for him," he offered, half-jokingly.

Rosette rewarded her 'helper' with a warm friendly smile. "Thank you very much. He's not in a good temper right now so..."

"Ah," Envy replied. "I'll be sure to leave before he finds out I was ever around." He pretended to cringe, not wanting to face Roy's "wrath" upon him.

"It would be a good idea." The young woman nodded. Seeing he was distracted, she studied him thoughtfully. 'That is one handsome man.' The redhead admitted to herself.

After a few moments, the homunculus and the young woman found themselves in front of Mustang's office. Carefully putting the tray back into Rosette's lap, he smiled down at her. "Well, I suppose this is goodbye," he murmured. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

"I must have sounded like a broken record, but I'm really grateful for all of your help. That was very kind of you to help me while you were the one on break." She smiled at him. "Not many people would do that."

Envy kept his smile in place. "It was no problem, really," he assured her. "I'd say more, but you've clearly stated that I'm not allowed to flirt."

Rosette laughed softly. "I hope that you have a nice day." Before she blushed, she opened Mustang's door and went inside.

The homunculus walked away with a smirk, letting out a small laugh as he headed back to where his other allies were. 'I can't wait to rub this into Lust's face! 'Not a good actor' my ass!' he triumphantly thought to himself.

Lust wasn't there, but Pride was still sitting at his desk. "That was quick." He commented

Envy shut the door to the room before transforming back into his normal form. He seemed peeved when he found out that the female homunculus had left the area, but decided to reply to Pride's words. "Well, she's just like many other human women..." he remarked with a sneer. "Treat her like a lady and she's like putty in your hands..."

Pride smirked. "Maybe, but I have a feeling that she's a tougher nut then you think. After all, one scream and her brother would come running, not to mention the soldiers who would fear Mustang's fury if they let her get hurt."

The homunculus frowned at Pride's words. "You always have to point out the negative points, don't you?" he remarked in a pouting fashion.

"You've left the door open a crack, but it's not open yet. Being cocky isn't going to help things."

Keeping his urge to snap back at the young homunculus at bay, he allowed a smirk to cross his face. "That may be so, but I have a feeling that I'll be able to find the crow bar for it soon."

"Are you planning to use force then?" Pride didn't sound pleased at the idea.

"I didn't mean it in _that_ way," Envy quickly replied. "I was referring to infiltration."

"Are you going to play the friendship card or the romance card?" He asked.

"So far... the romance card seems to be on the table," the homunculus answered. "I seemed to have picked the correct form for her to find attraction to."

"How can you tell?" Pride wondered.

"She kept stealing glances at me when she thought I didn't notice," Envy explained with a smirk.

"You sound like you were enjoying it."

The homunculus scoffed; annoyed that Pride would even suggest the idea. "You think I could enjoy a _human's_ company?"

"Why not? In order to play at a romance, the feelings have to be genuine on _some_ level." Pride pointed out. "I'm a married man, I know how it works."

Envy paused, pondering over the statement for a moment. "...Wouldn't you think that's a bit risky on my part?" he asked, growing a bit more serious. "Unlike you, I'm not planning to wed the woman and start a family."

"Until we know what the Master wishes, it would be wise to be prepared for anything. If nothing else, it would make your act that much more believable." Pride answered, throttling down the urge to smack his 'older' brother.

"I'll have to think about that," the green-haired homunculus replied with a sigh.

"Do so, but keep in mind that Mustang is only temporarily out of the way." It wasn't often that he could meddle with Envy, so Pride was taking full advantage of this unlooked for opportunity.

"I got it," Envy sighed again, knowing very well what the purpose of Pride's punishment for Roy was put into place for.

Pride looked thoughtful. "I might even get involved myself..." He said thoughtfully.

The homunculus' eyes narrowed, clearly not wanting interference from another "partner" of his. "...And why would you need to do that for?" he demanded, feeling his temper flare.

"If I'm the one who introduces you, Roy can't roast you over a spit unless you do something very stupid. I can also become something of a father figure to her."

Envy forced himself to calm down when he heard Pride's answer. He had to admit that it _was_ a good idea. He still didn't enjoy the fact that he had to depend on another person, however.

Pride smirked. "Of course, if you hurt the little thing, I'll have to take care of things before her brother does..."

When Rosette entered the room with the tray of food, Roy was busy filling out paper work like a "good" colonel. Though, it was highly suspected that it was due to Hawkeye's diligent watch over the young man and the close proximity she kept to his desk.

"I'm back, sorry I took so long." Rosette looked cheerful as she carefully rolled over to her brother. "I hope you are hungry Roy."

Roy looked up from his work and pushed a stack of paper to the side in order to make room for the tray that Rosette placed on his desk. Noticing the soup on the tray, the colonel took the time to inspect his sister's legs in order to make sure the hot liquid didn't manage to burn her on the way back. When he was satisfied that she was fine, the young man pulled away and raised his eyebrow. "...You didn't have to get me all of this food, Rose," he remarked. "I only asked for coffee and a sandwich."

"You'll need more than a sandwich in your system to counteract the sugar." Rosette smiled at her brother. "I'm fine, you don't need to fuss!"

The colonel sighed, knowing that her care over him always seemed to convince her to risk her own health in the process. He looked over the portions set on the tray and slowly rolled over a thought in his head before glancing at her with a suspicious expression in place. "...How did you manage to carry such a heavy tray that long distance without spilling anything?" he finally asked.

"I kinda got lost on the way there. A very nice soldier helped me get there and insisted on carrying the tray until I got close to the door." Rosette admitted.

"'A soldier'?" Roy echoed, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What was his name?" he then demanded, already feeling the need to be protective of his sister.

"He said his name was Mark Stone. He was very polite and handsome; he didn't flirt at all Roy."

The colonel's eyebrow twitched slightly, never even hearing of the man's name until just now. "...And you're sure he was part of the military?" he pressed.

"He said he was a first lieutenant." She replied calmly. "I didn't see a pocket watch, so he's not an alchemist."

Roy prepared to ask her another question but was soon cut off by his constant female companion.

"I'm sorry to cut in, Sir; but shouldn't you be doing your work instead of interrogating your sister?" Hawkeye asked, reminding the man just how much he had to accomplish within a few days.

The colonel glanced back at the second lieutenant, preparing to argue back when she spoke again.

"...This may be out of my place to say, but you're only doing this to procrastinate on your work, Sir," Hawkeye bluntly pointed out.

Roy was at a loss of what to say since she was partly right. Heaving a defeated sigh, he pushed down the urge to smack his head against his desk repeatedly.

Rosette smiled at Hawkeye in thanks. "I'll get my own meal and explore a bit so I don't get lost again Roy. Hawkeye, make sure he eats everything okay?"

The military woman flashed her own little smile in return, proving that she had more than one motive on why she scolded her superior officer. "I'll be sure to," she replied before casting a look at the colonel who still appeared to be sulking like a child who got his hand caught in the cookie jar before dinner.

"He was perfectly polite Roy, it never crossed his mind to flirt with me." Rosette coaxed him. "I promise that he wasn't looking for a date."

The state alchemist still was being hard to convince, but he knew to also trust in his sister's word. "Well, if you two keep bumping into each other, I'll have to meet him sometime," he remarked.

"All right, though I don't think I'll see him again. He was on his break when he offered to help me." Rosette smiled. "You worry too much big brother, but I love you."

Roy shook his head. "I worry about you because I love you," he replied before reaching for his pen to set back to work.


	7. An interesting lunch break

Author's note: Thank you once again to Turtlequeen2 for all of your help with this chapter. Sorry for the long wait everyone, I hope that you will enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Envy, currently disguised as Mark Stone, walked through the halls of Central Headquarters, careful not to scowl as he explored the building. A few days had passed since he had spoken to Rosette and he was annoyed that the woman had given him the slip. How in the hell was he supposed to "woo" her if she was never around?

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Rosette opened the door and exited one of the filing rooms. She was wearing an army uniform and was holding the large stack on her lap with her chin, with more files stuffed in at her sides. The young woman appeared to be nothing more than a pack mule on wheels as she closed the door behind her and carefully rolled down the hall off in a world of her own.

The homunculus heard a door close shut, stopping in the middle of the hallway when he saw Rosette rolling down in his direction. He took note of her military uniform and found himself thinking that it was ill suited for her. However, shaking such foolish thoughts from his head, he was just glad to have finally spotted her.

In silence, she rolled down one hallway, then another as though she was looking for something or someone. Finally, she seemed to find what she was looking for and tapped in a door politely. "Sir, I have those papers you asked for. May I come in?"

At a sound Envy couldn't hear, Rosette opened the door and entered the room. When she remerged, her load had lightened a little, as the two files on either side of her were gone.

From what Envy could deduce, the job the young woman had had something to do with filing papers and delivering them to other higher-ups in the military building. He wondered if it had anything to do with Colonel Mustang since King Bradley was still supposedly punishing the man.

The next stop led to the heavy stack of papers on her lap being delivered, this stop seemed to cheer her up, because she smiled and noticed Envy for the first time. "Hey Mark, is that you?" She asked, wanting to make sure she remembered right.

Envy nodded his head, forcing himself to smile even though he was mildly annoyed that it took her so long to notice his existence. "Yes," he replied, moving over to stand beside her. "I see that you've been put to work, Rosette..."

"From what I was told, everyone made a mass plea to the Fuhrer to give me _something_ to do to get me out underfoot. Roy _hates_ the uniform though. The Fuhrer had to point out that no one would even consider molesting a woman wearing the uniform before he finally let me wear it."

"Ah, I see," the homunculus remarked. "It is true, though..." He forced himself to let out a laugh. "No man would ever be stupid enough to improperly touch Second Lieutenant Hawkeye, for example."

"Not unless they wanted to die anyway." The redhead agreed, pausing to rub the back of her neck. "I know it's just make-work until the library's rebuilt, but I didn't want to look ungrateful, that's why I couldn't say hello earlier. If I'd moved my mouth, the stack I was holding would have gone flying."

Envy blinked, finding himself feeling slightly better at the fact that she _had_ noticed him after all. "So, you _did_ manage to see me earlier..." he murmured.

Rosette looks apologetic. "I would have waved, but I'm still learning my way around and I didn't want to loose track of where I was. Lieutenant Hawkeye gave me a map but..."

The "man" shook his head at her. "No, it's fine," he assured her. "You had a job to do."

She smiled in relief. "I need to check my bag and make sure it's empty. If it is, I'll be on break. What about you?"

Envy flashed a smirk in her direction. "I have nothing else planned for the rest of the afternoon," he responded. "I did most of my paperwork this morning."

Rosette blushed. "I haven't eaten yet, have you? If you have, you don't have to keep _me_ company if you have other things you wanted to do." Her shyness was almost painful, already expecting rejection from this handsome 'man'.

The homunculus took a quick moment to admire the woman's blush before replying. "Now why would I dare to turn down an offer like that from a beautiful woman such as yourself?" He let out a small laugh, adding, "Like I already said; most of my work's done."

Her blush deepened. "You are very kind." Rosette replied quietly, rolling smoothly at his side. Clearly, she didn't see herself as beautiful.

Envy secretly found himself enjoying the blush on her face as they headed to the cafeteria together. Though, it was clearly obvious that she wasn't used to being called "beautiful." 'Heh... Obviously, this means that this human will get more bent out of shape by compliments...' he mentally snickered.

Before they got to the cafeteria, she stopped. "Would you please wait here for a minute while I check the bag and make sure they know I'm going on break?" Rosette asked Mark very politely.

Blinking out of his dark thoughts, the homunculus nodded his head. "I'll be here," he assured her in a gentle tone.

Her smile of gratitude looked like a beam of sunshine as her gray eyes lit up. "I'll try to be quick." Rosette promised, opening the door and rolling inside as fast as she could.

Envy thought to himself after watching her enter the room she needed to go in. The woman's innocence perplexed him. For such a naive looking human, she had a rare brightness about her that he had never encountered before. He then inwardly growled at himself. 'That's only because I don't directly interact with individual humans that often!' he told himself, not wanting to believe that he was softening for Rosette.

Two minutes later the redhead came back out, looking a bit flustered. Seeing Mark though, Rosette nodded. "I'm free and clear Mark. Let's go eat!"

Putting his actor's smile back into place, Envy led them a few more paces until coming upon the cafeteria door and pulling it open for her like the proper gentleman would do.

Her smile of thanks was a gift as she quietly rolled inside, being careful to stay out of the way as much as she could.

Envy walked into the large room behind Rosette, shutting the door behind him as he went. He tried his best not to pay any mind to her smile, convincing himself that she was just another annoying human he had to win over for his leader's master plan. The homunculus stared at all of the male soldiers in the cafeteria, seeing how intimidating they all appeared in comparison to Rosette's fragile state. While she appeared bright and full of eager energy, the rest of the military men already looked fatigued and jaded. It was like seeing a rose in full-bloom while being surrounded by a garden of thorny vines.

As they were in line to get their meals, Rosette's cheerful chatter and honest smiles earned both of them extra goodies when the ones serving the food saw that they were together. They didn't tease the redhead, maybe afraid to spook her back into her shell, but judging from the glances they sent him when the girl's attention was elsewhere- they approved the seeming match.

The homunculus seemed pleased at his ability to paint a picture of the two being a nice couple. He kept his thoughts to himself as the two went to find somewhere to eat in the rowdy cafeteria.

Rosette looked about to say something when somebody shot his hand out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back as her other hand went to steady her tray. Her eyes darkened in pain, but all she said was. "Please let go."

The dark rugged man tightened his grip, smiling at the pain that flashed across her face. "I didn't know they allowed dolls in the military down here. Who do you belong to girlie?" He smirked.

Annoyance flashed through Envy's eyes as he set his tray down on an open space of the nearest table. He knew that it wouldn't bode well for anyone if Rosette's wrist got snapped while she was away from her brother. Deciding to make his presence known, he stepped forward. "I believe she told you to let go of her," he stated in as calm a voice as he could muster.

The man eyed Envy, then smirked. "You know who this girl playing dress up belongs to?"

Rosette sunk her teeth into her lip to keep from whining in pain, and wisely stayed silent.

Thinking that it would possibly get the man to back off, Envy answered, "Colonel Roy Mustang."

The man laughed almost tugging the redhead out of her chair. "Pah, I outrank him."

Rosette hissed in agony as her shoulder dislocated with a pop with the force of the man's pull. 'Ow!' She mentally cried out.

The homunculus heard the clear pop of bone and felt his annoyance turn into anger. This bastard was going to end up getting him roasted alive! "Is there something you want with her?" he demanded.

He smiled at Rosette. "Just want to have a little chat that's all." Although he said 'talk', clearly it wasn't talking on the guy's mind. "After we are done you can have your turn enjoying her company."

Envy's eyes narrowed even more, moving forward in one quick movement and placing his hand around the man's wrist and squeezing tight enough to make the soldier let go of the young woman. "I don't think I'll allow you to do that," he growled.

Rosette sat back up, her face white with pain and her numb left arm hanging limply at her side. Still she backed up with her right hand quickly enough to get out of harm's way.

"Why you little-!" The man growled, trying to punch Envy with his other hand.

The homunculus knew that the human was no match for him. Without blinking an eye, he snapped the man's wrist and moved his head to avoid getting punched in the face. In the same turn, he used his strong grip to flip the soldier over his body so that he would smack into the wood floor hard.

Rosette's mouth dropped. 'Not to self: do not get Mark angry with you!' She thought as she probed the injury with her free hand.

Envy let go of the military officer's broken wrist, staring down at him with cold rage still burning in his human disguise's eyes. "Are you quite finished? I am," he remarked.

The man just groaned and rolled over in pain.

By the time the entire fiasco had ended, the cafeteria fell eerily silent. Every person in the room aside from the three involved in the fight were all on their feet, looking at the group in stunned shock.

Before long, the doors slammed open, revealing a stern looking Fuhrer with his bodyguards on stand-by. The silence that settled through the onlookers turned into gasps of shock. It was a rarity to see their leader out in the open.

Swallowing hard, Rosette saluted in silence with the rest, doing her best to hide the pain.

"At ease, soldiers," King Bradley ordered, not wanting them to stand staring at him the entire time he was in the room. He walked forward, stopping directly in front of Envy and Rosette. With his one eye, he glanced down at the woman's limp arm before sending a glare at Envy, acting as if it was partly his fault.

Envy was clearly not in the mood to be lectured by his "sibling" but knew that it would be suspicious if he glared back at what was supposed to be his "leader." He made himself grow a more calm expression. "I apologize for the mess that happened in here, Fuhrer..." he murmured out between gritted teeth, hating the fact that he was forced to bow to him as he did so.

Rosette gulped. 'The Fuhrer's _mad_, what am I going to tell Roy? He's going to be _pissed_ at me..." She panicked

The Fuhrer's sights turned on the young woman. "What has happened to you?" he asked, his tone inquiring, but also giving away that it was more of an order for her to answer than just a conversational question.

"Mark and I were getting some lunch when he-" She pointed with her other hand to the guy leaning against the table now. "-stopped me. He said: 'I didn't know they allowed dolls in the military down here. Who do you belong to girlie?' Mark tried to help, but when the other guy pulled me towards him, my arm got dislocated Sir." She somehow managed to smile. "It's not serious milord." Although Rosette claimed that it wasn't a serious injury, it clearly hurt judging by her pale face.

The King could tell that she was just trying not to trouble him. Calling one of his bodyguards forward, he ordered him to make sure that Rosette was comfortably back into her chair before pushing her to the infirmary. "Once we get you there, I'll have a talk with you and this young man," he remarked, looking back at "Mark."

Knowing that her ploy hadn't worked, Rosette sighed. "Yes sir. Shouldn't my brother be called?"

"I'll send someone to tell him in a few minutes," Bradley assured the young woman as she was pushed out of the cafeteria.

"Thank you very much Sir." The redhead replied softly.

After a few minutes of pacing passed, everyone was within the large infirmary, watching as Rosette was placed onto a bed and began to get her arm examined.

Meanwhile a nervous officer tapped on Roy's door. "Colonel Roy Mustang?" He asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

Roy, who was still chest deep in paperwork, rose from behind his desk, thankful for the distraction. Walking to the door, he pulled it open and glanced down at the messenger. "Are you here to deliver a message?" he questioned.

"Your sister... there are an accident. The Fuhrer requests you to come to the infirmary at once." The man stammered like a schoolboy.

Within a matter of seconds, the calm expression on the young soldier's face turned into one of rage. It was as if someone had flicked a switch in his brain. His eye twitched once before he growled out, "W-what?!"

"Th- there was a fight in the cafeteria and your sister got hurt during the fight." He stuttered in fear.

The colonel stepped out of his office and slammed the door shut behind him. "Who was in this fight?" he demanded, glaring down at the officer. His right hand idly reached into his pants pocket to feel for his gloves.

"I don't know sir. I was only sent to get you."

Roy had a feeling that if he had already been wearing his gloves, the poor messenger would have been suffering from first degree burns by now. Letting out a growl of frustration, he stomped past the frightened officer with a hardened expression in place.

Rosette was biting down hard on her lip to avoid cursing, her other hand fisting the sheets to avoid hurting someone as her shoulder was being poked and prodded.

Mustang practically barged down the door into the infirmary as he searched for his sister. When he was in front of the small group, his expression of rage subsided slightly once he saw the Fuhrer standing beside Rosette. "What's going on here?" He half-snapped to his sister.

The redhead flinched, then hissed sharply. "My shoulder isn't broken, just dislocated Roy." She was trying to make light of it.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?!" he replied with a slight snarl in his tone, ignoring his commanding officer's presence for the time being.

"I didn't get burned." She replied. "Mark and I didn't even get to eat yet!"

The colonel's anger abated slightly when he heard Mark's name. "Who is this 'Mark'?" he immediately asked.

Rosette apologized to Envy with her eyes, but answered her brother. "Roy, this is First Lieutenant Mark Stone. Mark, this is my brother Colonel Roy Mustang."

Envy, who had been watching the interaction silently by the Fuhrer's side, stepped forward to give his "superior officer" a slight bow of respect. Looking up at the simmering fury in Roy's eyes, he knew that it wasn't best to anger the man. "I had managed to bump into your sister a few days ago when she was having difficulty finding her way to the cafeteria," he explained. "We met again today by chance and decided to have lunch together when _this_ happened..."

Rosette looked between the two, trying to gauge the reaction to each other, ready to play peacemaker despite being in agony.

Roy's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling annoyed that he had went a few days without knowing of this sudden development. "So, you had something to do with Rosette getting hurt?" he questioned.

"He was trying to protect me Roy, the crater in the cafeteria was caused when Mark made the other guy eat dirt for putting his hands on me." Rosette jumped in, yipping in pain. "Ow!"

Envy cast a glance at the woman at the sound of her yelp. "You should lay down, Rosette," he told her in a gentle tone. "I can deal with this on my own."

Shooting a glance at Roy, Rosette shook her head. "I'm fine."

The Fuhrer observed all of the conversations that took place in silence before clearing his throat. It never ceased to amaze him at how close the colonel and his sister were. Envy seemed to be doing a good enough job handling things on his own, minus the fact that his stunt could have cost him his cover. "Colonel Mustang," he suddenly beckoned.

Roy, who was prepared to say something to Rosette, immediately turned his attention to King Bradley. "Yes, Sir?" he asked, forcing his voice to calm after letting out a breath.

"I can see the anger in your eyes," the king observed. "I can tell that you're willing to kill the man who laid their hands on Rosette."

Surprised, Roy's eyes widened, not expecting the Fuhrer to say something so openly blunt and to the point.

"That is why I will not tell you who did this to her," Bradley explained. "I do not want you to place your position of power in jeopardy nor do I want you to burn down this building in the process."

Mark coaxed her to lay down, to anyone watching, he looked just as angry as Roy was.

"However..." the Fuhrer began. "Now that we know how dangerous it is to let Rosette wander around alone, I have decided to assign her a bodyguard..."

Both Roy and Envy looked at the King with wide eyes at the same time.

"It only happened once milord!" Rosette protested, gritting her teeth as she started to sit up to better fight her case. "My shoulder is only dislocated, an easy fix."

"I will not allow for you to take another risk like that," the Fuhrer said in a hardened tone, staring at the woman after noticing the bruise starting to encircle her wrist. Anyone who heard him speak knew that what he said was final and that there was no use arguing.

Roy was annoyed at the fact that now he would have to worry about if the bodyguard was treating her correctly. "If I may ask, did you already have someone in mind?" he questioned.

King Bradley felt a small smirk come over his features as he nodded his head. "He's standing in front of you," he answered.

Envy, who was glancing at Roy, immediately turned his head back to stare at his "brother" so fast that his neck almost snapped in the process. "Me?" he asked in an incredulous tone. Well, this certainly wasn't in any of his plans...

"Yes," the aging homunculus replied with a nod of his head. "It's obvious that you are very strong and also care much for Rosette's safety."

Rosette finally got tired of this and sighed. "This is gonna hurt..." She muttered to herself before reaching up with her other hand to grip her shoulder. Shutting her eyes, the redhead took a deep breath in and- before anyone could stop her- jerked her shoulder back into the proper place. "Snickers! I forgot how much that hurt!" Rosette panted, managing not to curse.

Roy's eyes snapped towards his sister. "Rosette!" he cried in a scolding manner, clearly worried about his sister.

"Hm? What? I told you it was an easy fix." The redhead looked calm as she rotated her shoulder carefully, her eyes measuring as she watched herself.

Bradley watched the exchange, figuring out how independent she was. He also was amused at how she had purposely made up a word so that she wouldn't have to curse in front of him.

She smiled at Mark as she tested her hand to make sure everything was back to normal. "All fixed up, nothing to worry about." Rosette's voice was cheerful again. Looking back toward Bradley, however, her mood shifted yet again. "Will Mark be my bodyguard only on the grounds or in the city too?" She asked.

Bradley looked at Envy who still appeared to be surprised by his sudden declaration. "He will be your bodyguard for both occasions..." He didn't bother to hide the smirk that spread onto his lips as he continued staring at the homunculus in disguise. "Unless Lieutenant Stone objects?"

Envy shook his head to regain a serious expression. "...I have no objections to it, Fuhrer," he replied.

Rosette smiled shyly at Mark. "Thank you, I'll try not to be a burden."

The homunculus turned to give Rosette a smile of his own. "I would be honored to be your bodyguard," he responded.

She fought the urge to blush when her stomach growled. "Since my arm is fixed, and our earlier meals are non-edible by now, want to try again to get some lunch?" Rosette asked, ignoring the Fuhrer's pleased chuckle in front of them.

Roy bristled, finding himself irritated that so many decisions were being made at once without his input. He cleared his throat so that everyone's attention would be directed towards him. "I appreciate your concern, Fuhrer, but are you sure that this is the best course of action?" he questioned.

The Fuhrer kept his smirk in place as he nodded his head. "You obviously can't watch over Rosette all the time since you're still under punishment due to last week's stunt," he remarked. "If you want to avoid having her getting harmed again, it would be best to assign someone to her that cares about her state of being just as much as you do."

The colonel heaved a sigh, knowing that his leader had a point.

As the two men were talking, Mark was helping Rosette back into her chair. It appeared he didn't mind his 'duty' at all and was being very attentive to the redhead. Was the Fuhrer was making an attempt at matchmaking? To outsiders, it certainly seemed that way.

Roy closely observed Mark's "caring" way he had helped Rosette back into her chair and how his sister seemed very interested in him. Returning flirtations was enough to displease him, but knowing that the two mutually liked each other bothered him even more.

Happily, Rosette saluted the Fuhrer. "May we please be dismissed now Sir?" She asked politely.

Bradley gave the young woman a nod of his head. "Yes, you can all be dismissed," he replied in a "fatherly" tone.

"Thank you very much, let's go Mark. I heard your stomach too; I know it wasn't just mine!" Rosette beamed. "Bye Roy!"

"Mark" returned the smile with one of his own. "Do you need help rolling back to the cafeteria or can you do it on your own?" he asked.

"I'm fine now Mark." To prove it, she spun in a doughnut before rolling towards the door. She was just showing off for Mark.

The Fuhrer seemed to be amused by Rosette's actions as he strode out of the room with his entourage behind him.

Roy only appeared to grow more annoyed and paranoid as he watched his sister show off for her apparent "crush."

Looking over her shoulder at Roy, she smiled and added, "I'm going on a shopping trip tomorrow so I'm barrowing your wallet brother."

Envy heard Rosette's innocent, but honest remark and couldn't help but let out a small laugh, noticing the semi-depressed expression on the colonel's face.

Rosette opened the door and held it open for 'Mark' and Roy. "Are you hungry Roy? I could bring you something after I eat if you wanted."

The colonel shook his head, still trying to get over the newest arrangement made for his sister.

"Okay, I'll check on you at dinner then. You think we'll get lucky Mark?" She asked her companion as they left. She didn't seem to notice or care about the dark bracelet-like bruise on her wrist.

Envy nodded his head at Rosette's question. "Let's hope so," he remarked. However, as he walked beside the woman, he glanced down at the bruise around her wrist and felt himself grow inwardly upset for reasons he couldn't even explain. 'I should have killed that bastard... Or at least found out what his name was so I could kill him later...' he growled.

When they got to the cafeteria, everyone gave them a wide berth. This didn't help Rosette's nerves, but she chatted with 'Mark' brightly as though nothing at all was amiss. She treated him as a well-mannered guest that she was hosting. The only sign of her nerves were the slight trembling in her hands.

The homunculus found himself enjoying her company more than he would have liked to imagine. He acted well as her new "bodyguard," making sure that no one got too close to her with bad intents.

They sat alone at the table, a fact which Rosette politely ignored. "So what do you like to do when you aren't on duty Mark?" She smiled. "You must be very popular."

Envy, who had already thought up a number of things to tell her for such an answer, replied, "I often go out around town just to spend time in the fresh air." To Rosette's "popular" statement, he only laughed. "I'm not as popular as you might think I am."

"That would surprise me; I would think that you and my brother were rivals by the way that you were sizing each other up. I tease him a lot, but that's just to keep him humble. Though tomorrow I fully intend to go to town when we go shopping, I need a new typewriter..." Rosette sighed. "I tried to sneak mine along, but that didn't work very well and it broke."

Part of him grew amused at how she believed that he had some type of long history in the military. "How did your typewriter break?" the homunculus couldn't help but question, genuinely curious.

"The person I was traveling here with wouldn't let me bring it, so I tried to hide it in one of my suitcases. Nice thing about being female is that nobody blinks an eye when you seem to over pack." She shrugged and took a bite of the meat.

Envy nodded his head upon hearing her words. However, he found himself pausing when he heard her remark about the person she was traveling with. "...You didn't come here by yourself?"

"No, my parents were trying to arrange a marriage for me. Roy didn't like that idea _at all_ and demanded to meet him. Apparently he couldn't hold his tongue and offended my brother."

"What?" Envy scoffed, half-jokingly. "Did the colonel roast him alive?"

"I guess so, I honestly don't know, Roy met him and I never saw him again."

The homunculus was lucky he wasn't drinking anything or he would have surely spit out at her answer. The look on his face was that of shock. "...Well, at least now I get why Fuhrer Bradley is concerned about his temper..." he murmured.

Rosette was glad that she had glossed over the truth slightly. "Roy is a protective man when it comes to the people closest to him."

Quickly recovering himself "Mark's" expression grew more serious. "I understand," he murmured. "This is why I must do my best to ensure that I won't end up being replaced as your bodyguard..."

"The Fuhrer trusts you, and he doesn't strike me as a man who does things lightly or without reason. He seems to like me I think..." Rosette said between bites of apple.

Envy found himself chuckling after he took a bite from the bowl of cream soup he barely touched to begin with. "I think King Bradley likes you much more than you think," he guessed.

Pausing, she put down the remains of her apple and eyed the soup. "Is that good? And how so?" Rosette asked, breaking off a piece of bread and toying with it.

The homunculus nodded his head to answer her first question. "As long as I've been here, I've never seen the Fuhrer treat a military employee or the relative of one with such familial respect. It's almost like he's treating you as his _daughter_," he explained in an honest tone, speaking as if it were already obvious.

Dunking her bread into her soup, she tried it that way, turning it thoughtfully in her mouth before nodding as though in approval at the taste. Once she had swallowed, Rosette frowned slightly. "I wonder why that would be considering I only met him once. Roy never mentioned that he had ever spoken of me to his colleagues in any of his letters... I would hate for people to accuse either of them of favoritism..."

"Mark" frowned slightly, knowing that she was quite observant for a human. "Well, even so, he _is_ the Fuhrer," he remarked. "I believe you'd be the one being in more danger if people started tossing that term around."

"A pawn is only in danger if she doesn't know that she is a pawn." Rosette pointed out. "As long as I stay close to my brother and try not to rock the boat _too_ much I should be okay. It helps that I'm not interested in a military rank or power, I'm just trying to be helpful."

Envy resisted the urge to drop his jaw. 'Dammit! Pride was right!' he cursed, growing annoyed. 'She'll definitely be a nuisance if she isn't being watched over...'

Cocking her head, she smiled happily at 'Mark' and continued to eat her soup before she spoke again. "I hope you aren't disappointed, but I'm not a very important person, although I'm flattered that you say the Fuhrer thinks highly of me. Personally, I'll just be trying to stay out of his way."

The homunculus took another bite out of his food before giving her a small smile through his disguise. "Why would I be disappointed with that?" he asked. "It's not as if I met you, expecting to talk to some female general."

True, but the fact that a nobody like me gets a bodyguard instead of a more important person isn't going to make other people very happy." Rosette pointed out calmly. "It's not going to help that a job such as this one will not help your career any."

"'Bookstores'?" Envy echoed. "You don't shop for jewelry or something else of that nature?"

"Despite what my adoring brother thinks I know that I'm not beautiful, let alone pretty, why would I buy such things just for vanity? The authentic things cost more money than I have. Books can be read over and over again and never go out of style. Besides, looks fade, the mind never does unless you are a real featherhead." Rosette pointed out, and then she shrugged. "I would rather spend money on useful things like books, a typewriter, and writing supplies."

"Mark" took good mental note of this, surprised that she wasn't as vain as most human women were. He smirked in response. "I see..."

"Maybe someday if I become a famous writer and need to develop an image in order to be taken seriously looks will matter more to me, but not right now. The only image problem I need to worry about right now is my hair…" She finished her meal quietly.

"Why your hair?" Envy pondered with a raised eyebrow.

Last "Roy doesn't like the fact that I had to cut my hair. He wants me to grow it back out again." Rosette explained. "My brother says I look too much like a boy having my hair short."

The homunculus frowned slightly. "I don't think anything's wrong with your hair as it is now," he remarked.

She smiled. "Thank you very much, but if the Fuhrer sides with my brother I think that we are both sunk."

Envy stood up after knowing that he wouldn't eat anymore food. "Do you want me to take your tray up for you?" he offered politely.

"Yes please, thank you." Rosette smiled. Looking towards the door, she suddenly frowned. "Excuse me for just a moment Mark." The young woman said, driving towards the door where Hawkeye was standing.

The homonculus nodded and took the trays up. Removing the trash and leftover food before setting the trays back where the dish washers would have access to them, he idly watched the interaction between Hawkeye and Rosette.

Looking upset, disappointment was clear in her gray eyes even as she nodded and saluted her superior officer. Rosette was frowning as she rejoined 'Mark'. "Well, Roy just told me that my work was done for the day and I was to return to his quarters."

Envy saw the disappointment in her eyes and also inwardly felt upset that their time together would end. He mainly assumed it was due to having nothing else to do if she wasn't around to mess with. "That's fine.... I suppose I'll have to see you tomorrow when you work then," he replied.

"Yes you will Mark... Thank you for defending me today." Rosette smiled, offering him her left hand to shake. With a grin, she added. "Make sure you wear your comfortable boots tomorrow, you'll need them by the time I'm done."

The "man" smirked, taking the young woman's hand into his own before pulling it up to his lips and giving the skin a very brief kiss. "I'll be sure to," he assured her, letting go of her hand in the process. "Goodbye, Rosette," he then added. After watching the young woman leave, Envy frowned. 'Something tells me that shopping with this strange human will be an interesting experience...'


	8. Central Shopping trip, plotting session

Author's note: Happy holidays everyone, please consider this chapter a holiday gift from turtlequeen2 and I. We hope you enjoy the chapter and can't wait to hear what you think.

* * *

Humming softly under her breath, she rolled towards the Fuhrer's office. This was her last stop of the morning, and she was happy that she had the afternoon off. She and Mark were doing some shopping that afternoon, and Rosette admitted to herself that she was actually looking forward to it. When she reached it however, the redhead frowned. Ms. Douglas wasn't at her desk, which seemed odd. Biting her lip, the young woman considered her options, then decided to make sure the papers were delivered personally rather than wait. Gathering her courage, Rosette rolled up to the door and tapped politely. "Sir? I have those papers you wanted."

"You may enter," came the commanding voice from behind the looming double doors. By the tone of the Fuhrer's voice, it was obvious that he was preoccupied with some other type of business.

Squaring her shoulders, Rosette quietly entered the room and saluted, not wanting to interrupt her superior more than she already had.

King Bradley was hard at work, signing documents that could have very well been new laws for the country's citizens to follow. Once he heard her enter the room, his pen was lowered onto the desk and his head lifted from the papers in order to give her his full attention. "At ease," he replied, telling her that she didn't have to continue saluting him. His hardened expression softened, looking at her much like a father would look at his daughter. "You can set the papers here on my desk, if you please," he then instructed.

"Thank you very much sir. I wouldn't have disturbed you, but your secretary appeared to have stepped out, and I wanted to make sure you got these." The redhead said as she did as she was told. Her hair looked neatly trimmed now, unlike the hacked off state it had been in when she'd first arrived in Central.

"Ah, yes," the Fuhrer remarked. "I believe her break time is right now." He slowly rose out of his chair as he tried to assess the woman's appearance. Something was certainly different about her. After blinking a few times, he finally asked, "Did you get a hair cut?"

"Lieutenant Hawkeye gave me a trim, Roy didn't like that. He's still mad about my haircut and I am absolutely forbidden to go near scissors for the next year." The young woman smiled.

The aged man let out a laugh in reaction to hearing about the colonel's response. "I see..." he murmured. "I personally think it's a nice improvement."

Rosette shook her head. "I agree with you, but Roy likes my long hair."

King Bradley gave her an encouraging smile. "Give it some time... Maybe he'll get used to the change," he suggested. "It's not as if he'd want to see his sister displeased, right?"

"In some ways, he can be _very_..." She paused, seeming to think twice about the words, "Old-fashioned at times."

"I wish you luck then," the man chuckled. He then bristled as a reminder flashed across his head. "I actually have something that will be of use for you today," he informed her.

"Really?" The redhead asked, brightening. Peeking out from beneath the sleeve of her uniform, the bruise around her wrist was still blue-black in color.

Bradley reached into a pocket on his military jacket and pulled out a few bank notes. After seeing her outstretch her hand, he placed the money within her palm. "I want you to spend this on something that will properly hide the injury on your wrist," he explained. An emotion sparked across his visible eye as he looked down at her as if treating the conversation like a top-secret meeting before a birthday party for someone else. "Preferably something fitting for the eyes."

"Thank you sir... bruises are slow to fade on me for some reason." She beamed, dazzling him with the light of her smile. "Mark and I are going shopping this afternoon."

"I'm imagining that you're going to give Lieutenant Stone a work-out?" the Fuhrer remarked with another laugh.

"Well, I'm sure that the next time I go shopping, Roy's going to tag along so..."

"It's too bad I won't be able to see that," the old homunculus remarked. Giving her a small smile, he finally asked, "Shouldn't you go get ready? I wouldn't want you to keep people waiting for a conversation such as this."

The redhead smiled. "Thank you sir. I wanted to make sure you got those papers in case they were something important."

The Fuhrer gave her a small nod. "You're dismissed," he formally stated, granting her permission to leave.

Saluting again, Rosette gave him a dazzling smile of farewell before leaving the room.

As soon as the young woman left the room, the smile fell away from King Bradley's face. Something told him that Rosette's smile could be used for more than just an expression for others to see.

Happy that her last task of the morning was complete, the redhead was humming softly to herself as she made her way back to the filing room. She was pleasantly surprised to find Mark waiting for her. "Good morning Mark! Sorry to keep you waiting, let me go punch out and then we can leave." Rosette's voice was cheerful and bright as she greeted him.

Upon seeing Rosette's face, Mark's expression brightened. He seemed pleased to see her again. "That's fine. I'll just wait here," he replied, leaning against the wall behind him. The homunculus beneath the human disguise couldn't figure out if he was really pleased to see her or if he was acting _too _well, causing annoyance with himself.

A minute or two later, Rosette emerged. "The Fuhrer gave me an assignment to take care of while I was out, so we'll need to take care of that first." She said as they made their way towards the exit together.

Still acting and continuing to act as if he were in high spirits Envy, as Mark, nodded with an added smile. "You're the one in charge of where we go so it's not like I'll object," he informed her.

She laughed. "Well, if I don't take care of this first, I'm going to spend it all on books!" Blinking as they entered the sunlight, Rosette sighed. "This bruise really offends him, I think."

Mark raised his eyebrow at her words. "Why? What did Fuhrer Bradley give you?" he questioned.

"He gave me some money and told me to buy something pretty that would cover the bruise on my wrist." She said quietly, showing Mark the money that the Fuhrer had given her. "It seems like a _lot_ to me…"

Envy enabled Mark's eyes to widen, honestly surprised to find that the Fuhrer went to such lengths for the woman. "...D-did he expect you to buy a gold bracelet?" he stammered out.

"I don't know. He said: 'I want you to spend this on something that will properly hide the injury on your wrist, preferably something fitting for the eyes.' But I've never had that much before, and I don't know _anything_ about jewelry…" Rosette admitted sheepishly.

The homunculus wanted to roll his eyes at the situation. Wasn't Pride taking his role a bit _too_ seriously? Still, his human mask allowed him to laugh. "If you're planning to buy something nice for your wrist, I'm sure I can offer some assistance," he remarked offhandedly.

"Thank you very much Mark. After all, orders are orders." Rosette beamed. "Do you have any suggestions on where to go for pretty things?"

"Well, I _do _know of one store in particular..." Mark trailed off, recalling the stores he passed by while walking through Central.

"Lead the way." The redhead slowed slightly so that Mark was in the lead, letting him be the leader.

Mark nodded his head, taking his place in front of her and beginning to walk in the direction of the town after exiting the military building. After a few more minutes passed, the two were standing in front of a quaint shop with the name "Ralph's Jewelry" plastered across the window glass. "It's this place," he confirmed walking forward to pull open the door so that she could be the first person to enter the place.

Her eyes widened, and she was _very_ careful entering the shop. "Wow… Mark. Are you sure that…? Everything in here is so…" The redhead sounded awed and amazed.

"Beautiful? Pricey?" Envy supplied, sounding amused as he guessed words to end her sentence. Set around them were glass structures protecting ending shades of various gems and crystals.

"Where would we even start?" She asked, her eyes were still rather wide as Rosette struggled to take everything in at once. "I doubt that there's anything simple in here…"

The homunculus made a dramatic pause, glancing over all of the cases before spotting a few gold chains in the case farthest to the back of the store. "How about over there?" he suggested, pointing to the area.

"All right." Rosette followed him trustingly, carefully avoiding the cases with the ease of practice. "Have you been here before?"

"Yeah, once," Mark answered, seeming to know his way around the store. "I was looking into buying a watch."

"Did you find one you like, or would you like help looking for one?" The redhead asked as she looked at the chains he had suggested with a thoughtful frown.

The military man frowned at the question. "We shouldn't be shopping for me," he pointed out. "This is _your_ day out."

"I don't see why we both can't get something we want. It's the least I can do after you kept that other guy from… whatever it was he that wanted to do before he dislocated my arm." Rosette said calmly. "Besides, I like helping people Mark."

"Are you sure?" Mark pressed, outwardly showing that he would feel awkward doing something like that for himself when he was supposed to be guarding her life at all times. Truthfully, Envy was continuing to be surprised at her selflessness. How could a human do so many selfless acts without having any fear of it backfiring on them?

"I'm sure." She grinned. "It's not like you are slacking, since you are still with me. If someone asks, just blame it on me! After all, it's not like you could refuse, right?" With a wink, she turned her attention back to the jewelry in the case. "I don't think any of these in this case will work Mark, they aren't wide enough."

Mark couldn't help but smile when he heard her reasoning. "That's true... I can't refuse," he murmured. Once he heard her comment about the jewelry, he pointed to the next case full of silver chains. "What about these ones?"

Solemnly, Rosette rolled over to check them, and then pointed to a thick but rather plain one in the middle. "That one might work, but I'll need to try it on first. Any others catch your eye Mark?"

The lieutenant frowned slightly upon seeing her boring choice. "I thought the Fuhrer said that he wanted you to get something 'pleasing to the eye'?" he murmured. "Doesn't that mean that it should be noticeable?"

"I don't want to call attention to it though..." Rosette said. "I'm not really into the flashy jewelry. On me it just looks tacky, like lace on a horse blanket, it doesn't make any sense."

Mark's frown didn't seem to dissipate with such an answer. "What about making a compromise?" he suggested. Glancing down at the case of silver, he pointed out another chain that looked about the same. The only difference was the small emerald centerpiece that was in the band.

"That's very pretty." When the salesperson took it out, Rosette beamed. "It fits! What do you think Mark?"

The homunculus in human form flashed her a smile. "I think it looks beautiful on you, Rosette," he commented.

"I think I'll get this one then." She said, nodding to the saleswoman.

After watching the salesperson fetch a box for the silver chain, Mark began looking around for a watch in another case. "Rosette... do you think you could give me some suggestions on what would look right on me?" he questioned.

"Which wrist are you going to wear it on?" She asked, frowning as she studied the cases.

"My right wrist," Mark answered. "Why?" he then asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"You'd be surprised how a small difference can change the overall picture of things. I like to pay attention to details." She pointed to slender gold watch. The band looked like woven gold and the hands had tiny diamonds that twinkled in the light as they moved. "Do you like that one?"

Within the disguise, even Envy had to pause and marvel at how beautiful the watch appeared. "...It seems that you have a knack for picking out jewelry for _other_ people," he commented.

"Who do you think keeps my brother looking his best at parties and such? It's not him! I love my brother, but he has absolutely no taste at all..." She shuddered. "It's a good thing you can't mess up a uniform, otherwise I would have been living here in Central for years!"

The homunculus couldn't help but let out a laugh at this. To know that one of his annoying tools had to rely on his sister for fashion tips was just too priceless!

"He once tried to wear a dark blue shirt with, get this, dark brown pants. Luckily for him, I was visiting at the time!" Rosette snickered. "As always, little sister saved the day and won him a few dates."

Mark let out another chuckle. "...So... are _you_ the reason why the Colonel is notorious for being able to date so many women around here?" he couldn't help but ask.

"I can't take all the credit." The redhead said modestly. "I just help."

"Yes... but, at the same time, it wasn't some power he acquired overnight on his own like many others think," the soldier pointed out.

"I just help with the appearance, the rest is all him." She laughed. "And no, he didn't use me as practice either."

The young man flashed a grin at her response. Looking back down at the watch, he remarked, "Since I do like this watch, do you suppose I should get it?"

"Sure, if you like it and don't see anything else you'd like better." She opened her purse as though to pay for his watch too.

The homunculus blinked. When in the hell did she decide that it was her right to pay for his watch? "...Wait," he suddenly blurted out, sounding as if he had reached a form of realization. "Are you intending to pay for my watch?"

"Why not? I don't mind; think of it as a gift Mark." She smiled brightly.

Inwardly, Envy wanted to twitch. It was times like this when her cheerful disposition seemed to piss him off. It was as if he were struck powerless when she pulled the smile card out on him. Forcing himself to heave a sigh and remain calm, the homunculus replied, "If you insist..."

"Well, if it really bothers you, we can always split the cost." Rosette offered politely, still beaming at Mark.

Mark forced a smirk. "That would actually make me feel a lot better," he admitted.

"All right. How much is it?"

Mark read over the tag and answered, "It's about 60, 000 cens." Pulling out his own wallet, he glanced down into the compartment holding the bills. The Fuhrer had made sure that Envy was well prepared before sending him out into the public. "So, 30,000 cens each."

Though her eyes widened slightly, she didn't say anything as she paid her share until after the saleswoman walked away. "Good thing we are splitting the cost!"

The lieutenant nodded his head. "It's a very good thing," he agreed, handing the store clerk his own share of the money.

Taking the bracelet out of its case, the redhead pushed up her sleeve and offered him her bruised wrist. "Could you please...?"

"I'd be honored to," Mark said with a grin as he took the bracelet and secured it around her wrist.

"Thank you very much Mark." She smiled at the bracelet. "Much better, it's a little loose, but I have a small wrist. Was the Fuhrer _really_ that mad that guy..."

"The last I heard of it... the Fuhrer suggested putting the bastard on trial in order to be court marshaled," the young man explained in a nonchalant tone.

Her eyes went huge. "But I wasn't really hurt! I thought at most he'd get suspended..." As Rosette spoke, she handed her new friend the watch.

Mark shook his head. "You have to remember that King Bradley almost treats you like the daughter he never had," he remarked, taking the watch away from her and putting it on his wrist.

Rosette thanked the saleswoman, but there was still a frown of concern on her sweet face as the two of them left the shop. "That may be true Mark and that is very sweet of him, but in doing that, isn't he doing exactly what he said my brother _couldn't_ do?" She asked, trying to figure out this puzzle.

Envy inwardly wanted to gawk at her logic. '_Dammit! She's smarter than we give her credit for!_' he mentally growled. '_This is why I was against his involvement!_' Outwardly, however, he frowned as if it were something he had just learned. "I never thought about it like that before..." he murmured.

The redhead shrugged. "Of course, it's not my place to question the Fuhrer... but it does make you wonder..."

"I suppose it does..." Mark hummed while inwardly stewing. The homunculus soon knew that he'd have to report this news back to his allies.

"Well, where to next Mark, bookstore or typewriter store?" She smiled at Mark again.

"Knowing that you may spend a good while in the bookstore, I think we should go to the typewriter store first," the young man suggested.

Rosette laughed. "Ouch! You've been talking to my brother haven't you. All right! Let's go."

Mark flashed her a teasing smirk. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he questioned innocently, taking his place beside her as they left the store and went back out into the street.

"Because Roy's the only one whose ever seen me in a bookstore." Rosette winked.

As the two continued to walk, they were stopped by a sudden shout of Rosette's name. Upon looking ahead, Envy mentally groaned. 'Great! It's the Fullmetal pipsqueak and his brother...' It was just what he needed today! What was even more difficult was that he had to pretend he didn't already know them.

Edward stood beside Alphonse, but raised his eyebrow upon seeing the unfamiliar face. "...Who's this guy?" he asked, not meaning to sound as rude as it did.

The redhead braked quickly and turned sideways. "Ed? Al? I thought you'd already left Central! Hello!"

Al clanked beside his brother. "Ed, be nice. Hello Rosette."

The young state alchemist resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother's scolding. "It's not like I hit him in the face or anything," he grumbled like a pouting child.

"This is First Lieutenant Mark Stone, he's my bodyguard." Rosette explained.

Making a show of taking notice of the pocket watch chained to the outside of Edward's pocket, Envy forced a smile. Glancing down at the alchemist's face, he remarked, "You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist, right?"

Edward took in the new information and nodded his head in response to Mark's words. Looking over at his brother, he further explained, "This is my brother, Alphonse."

"I could see how people would get you two confused based on your military title..." Mark murmured with a smirk.

The young alchemist bristled since it was a sore subject with him. The two things that annoyed him the most about meeting new people were that they either called him "short" or confused him for his brother.

"I thought you had already left Central." Rosette repeated patiently. "Doing some shopping?"

"Oh... yeah," Edward murmured before letting out a nervous laugh in reference to who he was shopping for. "...You could say that."

Rosette smiled and held out her wrist. "What do you think of my new bracelet Ed? Isn't it gorgeous?"

The state alchemist looked down at the wrist and was going to comment on the bracelet until he saw the bruise poking out from underneath of the loose chain. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he glanced up at her face and demanded, "Who did that to you?"

Alarmed, Al gently grabbed her arm and pushed the bracelet up slightly so that Ed could see the full extent of the bruising. "Rosette... What happened to you? Who hurt you? Please tell us."

The light in her eyes and welcoming glow on her face vanished as Rosette vainly attempted to pull her arm away. "I'm fine... it's nothing... really..."

Edward's eyes narrowed even more at Rosette's answer. "It sure doesn't look like 'nothing' to me..." he murmured.

'Dammit! These damn idiots will ruin everything before it gets off the ground!'Envy growled within his mind. If the Elric brothers suspected any foul play, they would step in as her protectors and get in his way or, even worse, figure out that Mark was Envy based on whatever information she could tell them. Knowing that his plans would crash and burn if he didn't step in, Envy as Mark stepped forward. "If I may interrupt..." he began. Not waiting for a response, he continued. "Rosette and I were in the cafeteria when some soldier began to give her some trouble. Feeling the need to defend her, I took the guy out before the Fuhrer came by to see what all the commotion was about..."

"I wasn't really hurt you two, just a nasty bruise and a dislocated shoulder, that's all. The Fuhrer was very upset and assigned Mark as my bodyguard so Roy's fingers wouldn't start itching. My brother is rather blunt at times." Rosette sighed.

"Rosette, you should be more careful. I thought we told you to keep out of trouble, can't Roy keep an eye on you?" Al said, letting go of her arm.

"Trouble usually finds _me_, not the other way around. As for Roy, the Fuhrer buried him in paperwork, and Lieutenant Hawkeye has her hands full just making sure something gets done everyday." The redhead explained.

"'Just a dislocated shoulder'?" Ed echoed, wondering what in the heck Rosette considered an actual injury. Though, as the woman continued to explain herself, he couldn't help but mentally snicker at Roy's continuing predicament. '_Obviously, someone is making sure the Colonel's keeping up with his punishment work..._'

Forcing a smile, Mark added, "I can assure you that I'll make sure Rosette doesn't get hurt by anyone else while I'm around."

"Yeah, I fixed it myself, so it wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't like I broke something." She smiled at them. "I'm always getting bumps and stuff, so I've learned not to sweat it. Roy gets more upset than I do about these things. I'm a bit of a klutz, so I'm always getting into something."

Al would have smiled if he could have. "I wouldn't have called you a klutz Rosette. Don't sell yourself short. Would you like some company?" He asked, Ed hadn't told him when their train was leaving.

"I wouldn't wish to impose on the two of you. Surely you are busy as well." The redhead said politely. "Please don't worry about me; what happened wasn't your fault."

"You wouldn't be imposing!" Edward assured the young woman. "Though..." he trailed off, looking over at his brother. "We _do _have a train to catch in an hour."

Mark immediately stepped in. "Well, we wouldn't want you two to risk being late for your train!" he interjected.

The state alchemist shrugged. "We still have our own things to do so it's not like we're just hanging around to keep people company," he replied.

With those words, the homunculus inwardly scowled. He knew that continuing to argue with the brothers would make him look suspicious. 'Why the hell did they have to show up?!'he inwardly snapped, just itching to kill the annoying pests.

"Would you happen to know where the typewriter store is Edward? I would like to see what they have so that I'm not at Roy's mercy later when I drag him back here to plunder his wallet." She smiled to take the sting out of the remark as the redhead shook her wrist slightly so that the bracelet fell back into place to hide the bruise.

Edward paused for a few moments, thinking over the question. "I think me and Al passed by it a few minutes ago," he answered, pointing in the opposite direction with his thumb.

"Thank you very much." Rosette smiled warmly at the Elric brothers and nodded at Mark, turning to go. "Let's go Mark. I might be a while in there..."

Envy forced another smirk to form on his human canvas before turning away from the brothers. "I had a feeling..." he trailed off in a joking manner.

The redhead sighed. "You'll be bored; I'll mostly be taking notes." She was almost apologetic about it, but not quite.

Clanking from behind signaled that the Elric brothers were following along.

Resisting the urge to turn around and snap at the two brothers, Mark replied to Rosette's words. "It's not like my job is to be entertained by you," he pointed out.

Rosette flashed a small shy smile at Mark as they walked to the shop. "I'll try not to take too long..."

Edward smirked from behind the couple. '_That's probably code for 'I won't take five hours but I'll take at least two hours',_' he mentally snickered.

She looked about to say something else, but upon entering the store the redhead stopped in her treads, seemingly not noticing Al running into her from behind. "Oh my..." The words trailed off in choked off yearning as she rolled forward, entranced by a typewriter in a stand near the middle of the room. Almost without thinking, she whipped out a pad of paper and a pencil stub and began to scribble rapidly.

Mark raised his eyebrow, wondering just what Rosette was writing down. He had no clue that buying a typewriter would require so much observation.

The young state alchemist watched with amusement as he saw the woman become entranced by the sights in the store. "Our train will definitely come before she leaves," he remarked loud enough for Alphonse to hear.

"She did warn us... I think we can go, she seems safe enough." Al answered, watching her circle the typewriter before resuming her note taking.

Edward nodded his head. "He seems more together than that other bastard," he remarked offhandedly.

The redhead looked like a child on Christmas morning, but that joy died as she studied the price tag. With a sad sigh, she wrote down the price before moving on to another typewriter.

"Hey, Rosette!" the young alchemist shouted, half-expecting her to ignore him since she was so engrossed in what she was doing. "Me and Al are going to leave so good luck on your typewriter hunt!"

"Thank you Edward. Goodbye Al, keep an eye on Ed." She replied absently.

Al tapped Ed's shoulder. "How much is it?" He asked quietly.

"I don't know..." Edward murmured, walking up to the typewriter in question and lifting up the price tag. The young alchemist's eyes widened slightly before looking back at his brother. "She has Winry's similar taste in expensive hardware..." He could only answer.

"That much?" Al sounded worried.

"It's about fifty thousand sens," the state alchemist murmured back.

Al sighed and shook his head. "We can't afford that... the Colonel would kill us..."

Edward nodded his head in agreement. "I don't even think he'd appreciate anyone else spoiling his sister," he added.

Mark idly watched the two brothers interact, making sure to keep his attention on them in case they tried anything strange or suspected him of anything. 'Why does the Fullmetal Pipsqueak want to buy something for her? It's not like he's dating her,' the homunculus within inwardly remarked with an inner scowl.

When the Elric brothers left for their train, the redhead was still taking notes and checking prices. She looked very serious now, with no life or joy in her expression. A minute later, she slid the pencil behind her ear and flexed her hand with a wince. "How long has it been Mark?"

"Close to forty-five minutes," the soldier answered after looking down at the watch that was recently bought for him. Glancing back up at her face, he raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just curious. I won't be too much longer... I think." Rosette replied, shaking out her hand.

"There's no rush," Mark assured her with a small smile.

"Thanks." She smiled slightly back. "I almost have everything I need." As Rosette spoke, she was already reaching for the pencil again.

The older man nodded his head, inwardly glad for that fact since he was never known to have the greatest amount of patience in the world.

When the redhead finally stopped writing, a half an hour had gone by before she finally closed the pad after rechecking her work. "All done."

Mark's face had relief written all over it when he heard her words. "So, you're planning to come back here later to buy a typewriter?" he questioned.

"Well, I'll need to talk it over with Roy first... That's why I took all these notes." Rosette sighed. "The haggling will take a few days."

Walking towards the door, he held it open so that the young woman could exit the store. "That sounds like a lot of fun," he said in a half-joking manner.

"Not all the time, I had to fight with him for a week for the first one." Rosette answered, smiling in thanks as she joined him. "Are you hungry at all?"

Mark shrugged his shoulders. "I could eat a little, I suppose," he answered. "What about you?"

"I could use a snack and a drink. I'm sure you'd like the chance to rest your legs for a while." Rosette smiled, offering to share the joke. "Don't worry, we'll break as long as you need it."

The so-called human couldn't help but laugh at her humor. "All right, then," he remarked, beginning to look around for a restaurant.

Politely, the redhead allowed him to choose the place. "Have you been bored all day?"

"No, not really," Mark replied after thinking about it for a few moments. "Aside for waiting on you in the typewriter store, I've been entertained for the most part." Upon spotting a small cafe beside them, he stopped. "How about this place?" he then suggested.

"I promise that the reward will be well worth the effort. This looks fine." Rosette smiled happily. "Where will we sit? Do you have a preferred seat?"

"Do you mind sitting outside?" Mark asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Nope, not at all, the weather is beautiful today." Rosette calmly slipped behind Mark to allow another person to pass them.

"Good, then," the older man responded, his tone sounding pleased. Leading the way to a free table while carefully weaving between other customers, he pulled a chair out of the way so that Rosette could take her place at the table he found them.

With a smile, Rosette politely took the offered seat and put on her breaks. "Thank you very much Mark."

"You're welcome," the soldier returned before taking a seat across from her.

The waiter came and took their orders, before departing with smile. "You seem to be well known here Mark." His 'date' complimented.

Mark let out a laugh. "You think so?" he asked, sounding as if he were in disbelief of her words. "I've only been to this place once before."

"Usually if service takes less than five minutes, it means either you are a favorite or that business is really slow and they want to impress you so that you will return." Rosette explained with a smile.

The homunculus smirked. "It's probably because I left one of the workers here a very nice tip the last time I was here."

Amused, Rosette laughed. "Well, it's a start."

Mark leaned forward on his chair slightly so that he could give her his full focus. "There's something I've wanted to know for a while now..." he trailed off. "Why do you need a typewriter so badly?"

"I'm an as-yet-unpublished author and I'm hoping to get published here in Central." Rosette explained. "Roy told me that none of the publishers here would even consider reading a hand-written manuscript."

The older man's expression brightened, looking as if he was glad to learn something new about the woman. "There's a tough crowd here in a big city like this," he murmured, agreeing with the colonel. "Though, you could always get the assistance of the Fuhrer..." he added, knowing how fond the man was of Rosette.

"No." The word was said firmly. "I will either succeed or fail by my own efforts alone. If I relied on other people, than I would never know what I can or cannot do on my own. It would be foolish to do that in case something happens to the person that I am relying on."

Envy found himself taken aback by the statement, not expecting such boldness. 'Heh. She sounded almost like those brothers just now...' he mentally noted before he allowed himself to smirk outwardly. "Interesting..." he spoke. Shaking his head before she could get suspicious of his behavior, he went on to say, "I'm sorry for the suggestion. It's just that I know a lot of people would jump at the opportunity since it's not like the Fuhrer is fond of many people like he's fond of you."

"The easy path isn't always the one with the reward at the end Mark." Rosette replied. "Besides that, the Fuhrer is a busy man. If I ran to him every time I needed a favor, when something really bad pops up- and knowing my luck, it will- then he won't believe me. Every time you ask for something, you are opening yourself up to a kind of personal debt."

Mark nodded his head, trying to understand her logic. 'I wonder how Pride will take this news?' he idly wondered before replying. "You have a point there."

"If I do something by myself, the success is mine and mine alone, and nobody can try to worm his or her way into making me share the reward for my hard work." Rosette smiled. "Not even my brother."

The soldier found himself pondering another question. "So, if you do get famous here, how do you think Colonel Mustang will react?" he asked. "He's already protective enough of you as if is... If you're constantly getting nagged for an autograph or a promotional stunt, don't you think he'd go insane?"

"I have no doubt he won't be happy, but I'm sure that he'll figure it out." Rosette shrugged. "If nothing else, I'll make him marry someone. A few kids will tie him down and keep him out of my hair."

"Though, until then..." Mark trailed off with a near grin in place. "I'll be working _lots_ of overtime."

"I'm pretty sure that there won't be any more trouble. Word has spread quickly about what you did; I don't think anyone wants to chance it..."

The older man snorted. "You'd be very surprised at how many idiots are in Central."

"True... well we'll figure out something I'm sure Mark. I doubt I'll get _that_ famous..." Rosette smiled as the waiter returned with their orders.

"Oh, I don't know..." Mark drifted off, not sure if she even knew her own talents. "You have a way with people so I wouldn't be surprised..."

Although she blushed, the redhead just laughed it off. "I'm nothing special, trust me. People are just blind to anything that doesn't directly involve them."

"Claims the girl who already has half of the staff of Central wrapped around her finger," the man teased in a joking manner, though he was inwardly serious.

"Only about a quarter, this, if you actually want to measure it; is only my pinky finger." Rosette said modestly. "And of those, most of them are scared of me for some reason." She took a sip of her drink. "Honestly though, I'm not about to run for office."

Mark let out another small laugh. "I don't think they're scared of you," he assured her. "They're scared of your brother."

"Yet another reason not to climb the ladder, too many people would think Roy is the one behind my rising in the ranks." Rosette shrugged.

"That is another good point..." The older man murmured in agreement. Looking down at his order of a single slice of vanilla cake, he decided to take the first bite after letting it sit for a few minutes.

She smiled as she ate her fruit salad. "Is it good Mark?"

After swallowing the first bite, the young man gave a subtle nod of the head. "Just like I remembered it when I had it a week ago," he explained with a smirk in return.

Rosette laughed softly. "This salad is really good too. I'm telling Roy to come here!"

"I suppose he could take a _date_ here," the homunculus noted. "It seems like a nice enough place."

After a minute of thought, the redhead shook her head. "Too public."

"You think so?" Mark pressed with a raised eyebrow. "What would you think would be an ideal place to go, then?"

"Well, that would depend on if I wanted to be seen with that person or not. I would bring a date here, but I have nothing to hide on the relationship score. Roy couldn't unless he was actually seeing that person for fear of a scandal ruining his plans."

"I never thought about that possibility..." the man admitted, genuinely interested in her form of logic. After taking another bite of his cake and swallowing, he remarked, "You always seem to be looking out for the Colonel as much as he always seems to be protective of you."

"Our relationship is... complicated..." Rosette looked slightly uncomfortable as she took another bite. "It's a long story."

Inwardly, Envy became _very_ intrigued. "Is it a long story that isn't meant to be told in public?" he questioned in as innocent a voice as he could muster.

"Yeah... The two of us have _never_ told anyone... It's very painful among other things." Rosette took another bite to avoid saying anything else.

"Ah, I see..." the man remarked, outwardly being understanding and respectful of her wishes to keep the story a secret. The homunculus side of him, on the other hand, was reeling with curiosity, now becoming determined to find out her true relationship with the colonel.

The redhead now looked very far away, lost in her own thoughts as she ate without noticing. Although only a table separated them, it seemed that the two of them were worlds apart.

Mark frowned slightly, not liking the silence that began to settle over the two. Since he knew it was obviously a touchy subject, he wanted her to- at the very least- speak to him about other things. The far away look in her eyes was enough to give him chills. "Rosette..." he began.

"What? Oh!" Mark could almost see the thump as Rosette came back from wherever she had been. "Sorry about that." Her smile was sheepish. "You were saying?"

The older man resisted the urge to comment on her sudden spaciness but withheld the urge. "I was going to ask if there was a particular time you wanted to head back to headquarters...?"

"I wasn't given a time limit... did you receive other orders Mark?" She pushed away her now empty bowl.

"Not that I'm aware of," Mark replied in an honest tone. "It just seems like we gone done earlier than expected..."

Disappointment flickered in her eyes, but she nodded in agreement. "True... I suppose we could stop for the day. Roy can't be left alone for long anyway."

The older man nodded his head, calling for a waiter so that they could get their bill. "...I can pay for this," he offered. "It's the least I could do after you helped me buy such a _nice_ watch." His last sentence said in an almost teasing manner.

Rosette smiled, blushing lightly. "Thank you very much. You've been very patient with me today."

Pulling out a wallet from his uniform pocket, he brought out a few bills and coins, paying in exact amount for the waiter to collect. Looking up at the woman, he smirked again. "It's no problem, really," he insisted. Watching for Rosette's reaction, Mark then brought out an extra ten thousand sens in order to place on the table for a tip. Rising up from his chair, he asked, "Shall we go?"

Although the redhead's eyes grew wide and she paled in alarm, Rosette did not comment on Mark's tip as she followed him back onto the street. 'With that much money, he could have easily saved up enough to buy the typewriter himself!' Rosette thought in amazement. 'I wonder if he makes more than Roy; or if Roy's been being a miser on me…'

Envy inwardly snickered at Rosette's reaction, highly amused at how she paled with surprise. He made a mental note to throw out more sens in the future as he walked beside her.

Shaking off her shock with an effort, Rosette forced herself to smile. "You should be more careful. If we get mugged I'm blaming you!" She joked to her escort.

Mark raised his eyebrow at her joke, looking as if he wanted to scoff at the notion. "They could try to mug us, you mean," he replied with a sudden smirk. "Not that I'd wish it upon us, of course."

"No thank you. I don't want my arm broken, I can't fix that." Rosette agreed with vigor.

The soldier nodded his head before added, "I don't think I'd be able to fix my _own_ self if the Colonel found out that it was my fault that your arm got broken."

"I hope you are a fast runner..." The redhead shuddered, a shadow falling over her face.

"Or immune to flames..." the young man added, cringing just as much as she was.

"That would be asking for a miracle." She said softly, briefly breaking her chair to go around a group of people. "I hope you are on good terms with your chosen deity."

Mark let out a small laugh. "I wouldn't know," he admitted. 'It's not like my kind believes in God anyway...' Envy mentally noted. Giving her another smile, he replied, "This just means I can never fail you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. They always come back to you to bite where it hurts most." Rosette advised. Before she could hide it, a flash of _something_ slipped out from behind her cheerful mask.

The older man stopped in the middle of the street, seeing the emotions of what he would imagine being deep, heartfelt pain pan across her face. A frown crossed his lips, not liking the expression one bit. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I said something reckless, again, didn't I?"

"It's okay." Rosette said. "People don't often mean that as deeply as they think they do. It's not a reflection on you..."

Mark's frown remained for a moment more as he thought to himself. 'I wonder who hurt her badly enough to cause this many mental scars? I hate to admit this, but I feel the sudden urge to kill...' The homunculus mentally wanted to hit himself for thinking such thoughts. Did this mean that he was already bending to her will?

Shaking herself again, you could almost see the cheerful mask- and it was a mask- click back into place. Rosette did this so well that her smile made you doubt if what you saw behind it was real after all. "It's a beautiful day. Let's detour for some ice cream on the way back, my treat this time!" She said brightly as she rolled alongside him.

Envy blinked before forcing his human disguise to return the smile. What part of her was real and what part of her was fake? It made him scoff to think he had to ponder about it since he was the self-proclaimed master of fake masks. "Sure," he replied, beginning to walk alongside her again.

Later that night a content looking Pride sat in his office, idly nursing a cup of red wine while he waited for Envy to show. Everyone else had retired for the night, and he would have to leave soon as well to avoid his wife's gentle but nerve-hitting nagging. Privately, Pride admitted to himself that there _were_ some pitfalls to being a married man, even if that marriage was just a front...

Since Envy was still in his human form, he made sure to keep a type of formality in case some officers were lurking in the halls. Holding the back of his fist to the door of the Fuhrer's office, he knocked a few times before waiting to be allowed inside.

"Come in." The Fuhrer called, setting down his glass on his desk.

The homunculus opened the door to the room and shut it behind him cautiously before turning back into his original form. Though, the glimmer of his watch could still be seen on his wrist, not bothering to take it off before returning back to base. "I've learned a few more things about her," Envy began, getting straight to the point.

"I don't suppose you'd care to share." Pride said in a good humor.

"Her past still deeply bothers her," the homunculus began. "Though, _that_ isn't surprising. What _is_ interesting is that I found that she admitted the true nature of her relationship to Mustang is something only known between the two of them..."

The Fuhrer's relaxed expression vanished and he sat up arrow straight in his chair. "Really? I wonder if..." He mused.

"'If' what...?" Envy questioned, wondering if the aging homunculus knew something that he didn't.

"I wonder if the Ishbal massacre has anything to do with it..." Pride mused aloud.

The older homunculus took a few steps forward in order to approach Pride's desk, now very interested in what he had to say. "Are you implying that they could have met there?" he pondered.

"It is a possibility. I'd never heard of Roy Mustang having siblings before that time... Thinking about it, I remember thinking it odd that he'd asked for leave but hadn't specified how long he'd be out of the force for..." The older looking homunculus frowned in deep thought.

Envy couldn't help but smirk slightly. "Well... it seems apparent that Mustang has _many_ skeletons in his closet from that war," he commented.

"And there are a few, it seems, that aren't in his closet at all." Pride agreed thoughtfully. "This is getting interesting _but_… I doubt that she will tell you where the truth between them really stands if the two of you were merely friends…"

The evil smirk left Envy's face once he heard Pride's words. "I already managed to figure that out on my own," he admitted. "That's why I thought up an idea that you might be interested in..."

"Oh? Such as?" The Fuhrer prompted patiently. "Keep in mind that it might not happen right away..." He reminded Envy.

The older homunculus nodded with understanding, knowing that what he had in mind might be noticeable- and might even require the permission of their creator. "I propose that you hold a gala for Central headquarters," he began. "As for the cover, you could suggest that it would be to raise military morale since lately, they've been involved in so many military exercises."

Pride looked surprised and a little amused. "Don't you think you are moving a little fast? At any rate, this will take a while to arrange... May I ask why you are suddenly suggesting a party when you hate humans so much?"

Envy stifled a sigh, expecting such a reaction. "I can already tell that Rosette has some interest in my human disguise," he explained. "And since it will take you a few weeks to get that to run properly, I'd use that time to get closer to her." He frowned, thinking about the setting of the gala. "As for the humans, I'll have to suck it up and deal with it."

"You realize that you might not be able to ask her to be your date." Pride pointed out, wondering what Envy's plan was.

Envy smirked. "I don't necessarily have to go as her date," he remarked. "If you make the setting appealing enough, she'll want to go and I'll have to attend as her bodyguard to ensure that she doesn't get touched by any inappropriate men..."

Pride smiled. "I think I'll be there as well, to provide backup of course."

"That sounds good," the other homunculus responded, sounding glad that his plan would be working out.

"What else have you learned Envy? Is she enough to keep you interested? I haven't heard anything from the Master yet..." Unspoken was the worry that Envy might kill Rosette out of boredom before knowing exactly what their Master's orders were yet.

The homunculus knew what Pride was implying and answered his 'brother's unspoken concern. "Don't worry. I think this human will keep me entertained for a good while..."

Pride raised his eyebrow questioningly. "Oh?" His tone spoke volumes. "How far are you going to go?"

Envy shrugged. "As far as our Master allows."

Before Pride could reply, Lust's figure slid out of the hidden elevator located behind a particular bookshelf. "What?" she taunted. "Don't tell me you're already falling for the little kitten?"

Immediately on the defensive, the androgynous homunculus narrowed his eyes at Lust. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Lust, I trust this is important..." Pride said with a warning in his voice, feeling annoyed that he hadn't gotten everything out of Envy yet.

The woman's cold eyes developed warmth as she approached the two. "Master sent me up here to check on you two since Envy's a bit slow in returning..."

Envy resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her defense.

Pride's voice immediately took on a respectful tone. "What exactly did the master say?"

Lust smirked, her expression naturally looking seductive given her name. "The Master is very interested in this new development," she announced. "She wanted me to tell Envy that he needs to go as far as necessary in order to win over the human girl. That woman's connections to the Flame Alchemist could prove to be highly useful."

Pride raised his eyebrow at Envy. "Come to think of it, you've never played a boyfriend or a husband before." He teased Envy.

Envy raised his own eyebrow in return. "Do you honestly believe it will go that far?" he questioned, genuinely curious. At the moment, he couldn't picture himself married and with a human family.

"You might have to depending on how far things go between you two, otherwise the Flame Alchemist might start undoing your work at a certain point. Particularly if she starts getting nervous and starts questioning your intentions..."

Lust let out a sudden laugh at Envy's question. "I don't see why you're bothered by that," she taunted. Eyeing the homunculus' watch, she observed, "The fact that you kept her gift with you tells anyone that you hold _some_ type of feelings for that girl."

The older homunculus glared sorely at the woman. "You're just assuming that I value it," he growled.

"Still, that is a smart move. You never know when you will bump into her, so it's better to wear it all the time than to be caught without it." Pride replied, trying to defuse the tension in the room before a fight started and wrecked his office.

"Hm... perhaps..." the female homunculus trailed off. Before Envy could react, she moved forward with her superhuman speed and gripped his watch-clad wrist, bringing it up to her face so that she could better inspect the watch. "Envy's little kitten has good taste in fine jewelry..." she chuckled. Her eyes then scanned his face, waiting for a reaction.

In the instant after Lust said those words, Envy roughly jerked his wrist from the woman and stepped back from her, trying his hardest to control his temper. "Don't touch me!" he snapped.

Lust sneered, her expression smug. "I'd say that our little Envy has a _crush_ on the human girl, if I didn't know any better..."

Envy's hands formed into fists, resisting the urge to kill Lust a few times over as he glowered at her with smoldering hatred. 'How dare she touch my watch!' He shouted in his mind. He didn't believe Lust's hands were deserving to touch the gift that Rosette had so carefully picked out for him. His rage didn't even allow him to stop and think over his odd thoughts.

"Lust, leave him be, Envy's only following orders." Pride forced his voice to stay calm.

The woman's sneer remained, nearly morphing into an outright grin as she nodded her head in agreement to Pride's words. "Fine, I will... for _now_," she stated.

'I want to kill that bitch!' Envy mentally growled as he tried his best to calm down.

"Envy, take a few days off and go report to the Master." Pride continued, giving Envy a vacation. "I'll look after Rosette."

Standing in silence, Envy didn't reply until he was calm enough to unclench his fists. "Fine," he grit out, walking past Lust and giving her one last glare before opening up the bookshelf that led to the elevator.

"Make sure you give a full report to the Master and ask for permission about the Gala while you are at it." Pride said, draining his glass of wine. "I need to get home to my wife and son."

"Got it," Envy grumbled, tossing a wave back towards the aging homunculus without bothering to turn around. Pushing back the iron gate leading to the elevator, the homunculus made his way into the contraption and didn't bother to wait for Lust as he pressed the button to be lowered underground. However- he couldn't help himself- the temperamental homunculus thought about how he wished he was going down to see Rosette instead of his master...


	9. All's fair in love and war

Author's notes: Sorry for the long wait everyone! It took a while for turtlequeen2 and I to get this done. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

* * *

A few months later, Rosette was eying herself without expression as she straightened the folds of her pale leaf green dress. It fit closer to her figure than she usually felt comfortable wearing, but from the moment she saw it, she'd fallen in love with the color. Twitching it slightly, she sighed in defeat. Seeing the bracelet 'Mark' had chosen for her, it made her smile. The redhead never took it off even after the bruise had faded. Running her fingers though her hair to tame it, she felt Roy's eyes on her, but she didn't say anything yet.

Rosette's overprotective brother was definitely doing his part of the job, eyeing her choice of clothing suspiciously. Despite how they had spent hours of going through clothing before Roy finally approved of the choice, he still didn't find himself satisfied. It wasn't as if he wanted his sister to look unappealing. It was just that he didn't want her being ogled by the other men either...

Tucking her unruly strands behind her ears, Rosette finally looked at him. "What? Does it look crooked?" She asked.

Roy shook his head, pushing back his urge to frown again. "Your hair looks fine," he replied. "How do I look?" he then questioned, wearing her choice of clothing. It was deep green shirt tucked under a sharp black suit.

Although Rosette had been referring to her dress, she knew better than to correct him as she smiled and turned her wheelchair to face him. "You look handsome and we match. You aren't wearing your brown shoes are you? They'll clash with the suit."

The colonel lifted his shoe off the ground to show her. "They're black just like you wanted," he answered.

Nodding in approval, Rosette took a deep breath. "We'll leave in a minute, I'm almost ready."

"All right," Roy replied, continuing to watch the woman prep herself. He then paused as a thought came over him. "...I heard that you also helped Lieutenant Hawkeye pick out something to wear... Is that true?"

She didn't look up as she took one of the roses from the vase and began trimming it to wear in her hair. "I offered a suggestion or two, but I wouldn't say I helped her."

The older man raised his eyebrow suspiciously at her. "What do you mean by 'A suggestion or two'?" he echoed. "Why do I have the feeling that each suggestion had five parts to it?"

"She has better color sense than you." Rosette replied, cutting off all but one of the thorns before shortening the stem.

A knock suddenly sounded on the door. "Colonel, can I come in?" Came Hawkeye's voice from the other side.

Roy flashed a glance at Rosette, wondering if she cared.

"Go ahead!" Rosette called, putting the rose in behind her ear.

As soon as Hawkeye walked into the room, the colonel's jaw completely dropped. The military soldier looked less like a deadly sniper and more like a voluptuous seductress. She wore a red floor-length, strapped dress that accentuated every curve of her body as if it were water-caressing skin. Silver jewels adorned the bodice that dipped teasingly low to reveal a cleavage. The woman wore light amounts of make-up and kept her hair pinned up as usual, but the clothing made her look more womanly than ever before.

Roy had to blink several times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. Snapping his head over towards Rosette, he murmured, "I thought you said you gave her a few suggestions..." as soon as he could pick his mouth off of the floor.

Rosette ignored her brother. "Good evening Lieutenant. You'll be turning heads tonight. I told Roy there was no reason to fuss over me, but he wouldn't listen."

Hawkeye couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Rosette's comment before sighing at her superior officer. "Colonel," she remarked in her usual formal tone. "Please don't lose focus tonight due to my state of dress."

The colonel tried his best to straighten himself up but seemed as if he were failing miserably. "W-who said I was losing focus?" he demanded in a more gruff voice than normal.

"Lieutenant? Tell me the truth, is my dress crooked? Roy's no help at all!"

The older woman walked over to Rosette and circled her once with a look of concentration on her face. "I think... the right side is a tiny bit higher than the other," she murmured as soon as she was standing in front of the girl again.

Looking relieved, she fixed it. "How's that?"

"Much better," Hawkeye replied with a small smile in place.

Clearing his throat, Roy asked the first thing that came into his head. "...Will this be the first night you'll actually go someplace public without carrying a gun?"

The Lieutenant raised her eyebrow at the strange question. "Of course not," she answered, shifting her left leg forward to reveal that there was a slit in her dress. In the middle of her thigh lay a gun holster that was connected to her garter belt.

As soon as Roy saw the garter belt, he immediately averted his head. "...That answered my question..." he murmured quietly.

The redhead snickered. "Get our coats before you dig yourself any deeper and swallow your foot in the process Roy." She winked at Hawkeye as she spoke.

The colonel heaved a sigh similar to the one he gave when he attempted to battle in the rain. "Fine..." he said with a resigned sulk as he made to grab coats off of the coat hanger near his desk. He put on his own formal black coat after handing his sister hers.

Hawkeye shook her head, giving an expression that clearly read 'the colonel is hopeless'.

'You're telling me.' Rose's look replied as she slipped on the short black coat she wore in cold weather. "All right."

"I suppose I'll drive," Roy remarked, easily catching the women's looks as he walked past them.

"I can roll on my own and meet you there. I know you don't like messing with my chair." Rosette offered, wanting to give them time alone.

The colonel's eyes narrowed slightly. "...You think I'm going to let you go there by yourself in the dark of night?" he asked.

"It's not very far." She pointed out.

Roy glanced at Hawkeye before looking at his sister again. He knew that letting Rosette borrow a gun was a definite bad option and he also knew what his sister was trying to do. Heaving a heavy sigh, he finally said, "Fine... But I expect you to be there ten minutes after I'm there. If not, I'm going out to look for you."

Snickering, she left Roy's place, humming softly under her breath.

Hawkeye shook her head again, getting in the passenger's side of the car before waiting for her superior to get in on the other side and begin driving. She had a feeling that the ball would become very interesting...

Rosette rolled calmly down the sidewalk, in no real hurry, just enjoying the quietness of the darkness.

Her peaceful solitude was shattered by a voice that came from ahead of her. "Rosette!" the voice called before a familiar figure dressed in a formal suit appeared in front of her wheelchair. "Hey," the man greeted with a smile. "What are you doing coming down here by yourself?"

"Mark? Hi there! I decided to roll instead of riding with Roy; it seemed a pity to waste a night like this." Her face had lit up when she'd seen him, which it had been doing for the past few weeks. However if she was interested in him, that was the only sign the redhead gave.

Mark enjoyed how her expression looked happier when he was around but grew annoyed that it never went beyond that. He would have possibly mentioned something if not for noticing the woman's state of dress after passing under a street light. He paused, his eyes widening slightly at the gown she wore. '...Humans can actually look this appealing...?' Envy gasped in his mind before shaking such a "stupid" thought from his mind. Nevertheless, the homunculus managed to breathe out, "Wow... you look beautiful, Rosette..."

Rosette blushed. "I forgot to button up my coat didn't I?" She sighed. "So much for surprise..." The last part was muttered softly, as though she didn't want him to hear her.

The soldier raised his eyebrow, noticing very well that she had forgotten to close her coat. "...'Surprise'?" he echoed. "You were trying to surprise me?"

If anything, the girl's cheeks grew even hotter, but she bit her lip and refused to answer.

Mark couldn't help but smirk at her reaction, greatly enjoying her flustered expression. "Well, it's still dark out so I haven't seen the dress in it's full glory yet," he remarked.

Rosette flashed him a small smile and her color decreased slightly. By the time they reached the party, the redhead looked back to normal.

The older man's smirk remained in place, realizing a positive thought. Despite how Rosette maintained her silence towards him, he now knew that she _was_ interested in him.

Roy stood outside of the doors of the ball, his arms crossed as he looked at the couple. Not even bothering to ask about how the two even met up in the first place, he remarked, "Good timing, Rosette. I was about to go looking for you after the last minute passed."

"You fuss too much! What? Things not go as you wanted?" She teased, unzipping her coat after rolling inside and removing it. The dress was perfectly modest, but it left no doubt that she had curves, as it hugged her body without showing any skin. She looked like a maiden princess of the forest, and the red rose in her hair only set off the pale green of the dress.

Mark's eyes widened yet again as his eyes looked over Rosette in her full glory. If it wasn't for Roy's hard eyes glaring at the back of his head, his jaw would have surely dropped. It took all of Envy's control to prevent himself from kidnapping the woman and taking her to somewhere private so he could admire her for a much longer time.

Rosette smiled shyly. "Is it all right Mark? I know it's not the fashion but..."

Mark cleared his throat, nodding his head as he tried to gain his voice back. "...You look stunning, Rosette," he admitted.

She glowed like a flower under the sun. "See? I told you things would be all right Roy."

Roy blinked, resisting the urge to glare even more at Mark in front of his sister. He could tell that the soldier liked what he saw very much. "Yeah, yeah..." he sighed. "And to answer your last question... Things did go well between me and the lieutenant."

"Uh huh... right..." She drew out the words with a roll of her eyes. "If that was so, you wouldn't be here now. She must be so disappointed..." Rosette smirked at her brother. "See you later." The redhead rolled away after that parting shot without looking back.

The colonel's eyes widened when she caught onto his bluff. "Hey! Wait!" he protested in vain as his sister evaded him.

Rosette snickered, clearly struggling not to laugh in front of other people. "Oh... I've waited a _long_ time for that..." She allowed herself to say.

A throat cleared from her right side, causing her to turn and face the Fuhrer. He waved his hand in a friendly greeting before getting a full glance at her dress. His visible eye widened slightly upon seeing the dress. "...I'm surprised Colonel Mustang let you walk out of the house with that on," he commented with a laugh.

"He had other things on his mind Fuhrer; I just stuck out before he could corner me and make me wear something else instead." She smiled in amusement after saluting respectfully. "I was honestly surprised he came at all."

King Bradley smiled back at her words. "He looked like he enjoyed Lieutenant Hawkeye's company for a while," he commented.

"I even rolled here instead of driving with them just to give them privacy... Neither took the hint." The redhead sighed and shook her head sadly. "I guess that you can lead a horse to water but you just can't make them drink it..."

The Fuhrer let out a small laugh before his fatherly instincts began to kick in. "Should a young lady your age speak about things like that so lightly?" he asked.

"Lying about it doesn't do anything. He is the way he is. I'd marry him off, but I'm not dumping him on some woman that could really love him." Rosette replied.

The military leader let out another laugh at her response. He was vaguely aware of Mustang's "womanizing" nature so he knew it made sense that she would try to keep an eye out on her brother.

"I've already suggested moving out, but Roy said no." The redhead shrugged quietly. "Personally, I don't understand it at all, it's very annoying."

King Bradley flashed the redhead an amused smile. "It _sounds_ annoying," he remarked before he noticed Mark step into view beside her. Looking over the pair, he gave a slight nod of approval. "Are you two here _together_?" he asked. It was implied that he was asking about their relationship status.

Caught _completely _off guard by the question, the redhead's cheeks grew quite hot while her gray eyes grew wide. "Uh… um…" For the first time, Rosette was actually tongue-tied and at a loss for how to answer the question. After all, he _was_ the Fuhrer- off duty or not- and she didn't want to speak for Mark in case he had a different view of their relationship.

Mark looked surprised at the question, but was more in shock of how Rosette reacted. Never had he seen her appear so flustered before. After turning his eyes away from her and focusing them on the Fuhrer, he replied, "Depends on what you're implying with the word 'together.'" Letting out a calming breath, he added, "I escorted her here and we're currently close friends, but I'm not certain that we are much more than that at the moment."

Their leader kept his smile in place as he murmured, "I see..." Taking on a more fatherly tone, he remarked, "You two would look more compatible at this gala than most of the other couples I see here..."

Rosette finally got her tongue to work again. "That may be, but not _everyone_ thinks that sir." She managed to say and hoping that made sense, the redhead still looked in shock and wished devoutly for a drink as her tongue felt thick in her dry mouth.

The Fuhrer's response to her comment was to let out a small laugh. "I don't want to impose on you for much longer," he replied. "I do hope you and Lieutenant Stone enjoy yourselves."

Mark nodded his head, raising his hand to his forehead in a respectful salute before the man walked away.

As soon as the Fuhrer was a safe distance away from them Rosette turned sharply towards the buffet table. "I'll be back, I need a drink and some air." She managed to say to Mark without gasping as she rolled away quickly without seeming to rush.

Envy had to inwardly snicker at how flustered Rosette had become due to King Bradley's words. He knew that the night could potentially work in his favor if he was able to do the right things in order to take advantage of the young woman.

Rosette managed to get her drink and roll outside into the garden without being noticed by her brother or her watchers. Although it was cold outside, the redhead didn't seem to notice as she sipped her ice water and slowly regained her composure. "I'm such an idiot… what in the name of He most high will I do now…" She sighed into the night.

Mark seemed to be the only one who noticed the young woman leave and was prepared to go after her when another man blocked his path. "...Excuse me, colonel," he murmured, trying his best to sound respectful to the man.

Roy's eyes narrowed at his sister's bodyguard, showing his suspicions about the young man. "Don't think I didn't hear the conversation you had with the Fuhrer earlier," he practically growled. "Just how close do you expect to get with her?"

The lieutenant let out a breath before answering. "I have no hidden objectives. I'm currently only her bodyguard and friend as long as I'm permitted to be either."

The colonel kept his glare on the man. "If you try anything suspicious, I'll ensure that you'll lose your job," he remarked before stomping away from Mark.

Mark then let out an annoyed huff as soon as Roy was out of sight. Envy inwardly shook his head, now more eager than ever to speak to Rosette.

Swallowing the last of her water, the redhead had regained her composure and was idly playing with the glass, watching it bend and scatter the moonlight. She looked more comfortable outside in the dark than she had been in the room with the party.

The young soldier made his way out to where Rosette stood, watching her play with her glass for a few moments before clearing his throat. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked in a cautious tone.

"Of course you may Mark. I apologize if you were embarrassed in there…" The girl set the glass in her lap and looked at the man half hidden in the shadows. "I'm not sure _where_ the Fuhrer got that idea from…"

Mark flashed a reassuring smile at the concerned young woman before him. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Though, I was more nervous about the colonel's sudden appearance. He seems to be agreeing with the Fuhrer's words based on how he yelled at me a few seconds ago."

Panic briefly crossed her face. "What happened? Are you okay?" She asked, giving him a worried once-over. "You don't look singed..."

The small soldier let out a small laugh at her words, idly rubbing the back of his head as if doing it out of habit. "He just threatened to get me fired if I tried anything 'suspicious' with you," he explained. "I'm not sure if that would be literally or figuratively yet."

Rosette's lips tightened and she made a small angry sound in the back of her throat. "Why doesn't he leave me to make my own choices? If I need his help, I'll ask him..." She muttered.

Letting out a breath to seemingly settle his nerves, Mark shrugged as he heard her speak. "Have you tried talking to him about that type of thing?" he asked offhandedly.

The redhead shook her head. "He's remarkably stubborn about this all things considered. I think he doesn't want me in a relationship of any sort at all."

Envy inwardly frowned at this newly formed issue. He knew that Mustang was stubborn, but for him to outright forbid her from getting into a relationship was something he now had to face terms with. "That seems a bit unrealistic," he found himself murmuring aloud. "I mean, at least, for him to think that you'd never fall in love with another person." Looking at Rosette with a serious expression in place, he added, "If you ever _did_ reach that point, what would you do? I'd hope that you wouldn't just let the colonel destroy that connection you'd have with someone else, right?"

She returned the frown. "I'd like to say that Roy's just afraid that I'll get my heart broken but..." Rosette sighed. "I think he's more afraid that after I get attached to someone, they'll walk away from me after I tell them _everything_ about me..."

"'Everything'?" Mark echoed before shaking his head. "In any case, there's still that chance that the person you tell will actually accept despite what happened in your past. How could you know that if he doesn't even let you try?"

"It's hard... and very painful... for me. Still, it's even worse for him than me." Rosette idly swirled the melting ice in her glass. "He's afraid because I don't go halfway with my emotions."

"In other words..." the soldier trailed off. "If you got your heart broken, you would be utterly devastated instead of just being depressed for a few days..."

"Yeah." Rosette didn't look at him. "I don't trust easily, Roy- oddly enough- is the only one that I would obey without question."

Now understanding her situation a bit more, Mark understood why she behaved the way she did. Wanting to get the conversation away from the colonel for the time being, he questioned, "So... why did you come out here after the Fuhrer left?"

"I needed some fresh air, I'm not used to fancy parties with a whole lot of people I don't know."

"Oh..." Mark blinked. "That makes sense, I suppose." He knew that somehow there was a lot more to why she came outside, but decided not to press her for the information.

"Also, it's beautiful outside, why waste it indoors? The party inside is mainly power dancing and ego rubbing anyway. I only came because the Fuhrer practically cornered me with the invite after two weeks of hide and seek." Rosette smiled.

The older man gave a chuckle. "I wonder why he'd want you to come so badly.. What do you think?"

Rosette shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but if it were a younger man I'd be very, very nervous..."

Mark shook his head. "Somehow I have a feeling I'm involved into this somehow..." he remarked.

"All I'm saying is that I'm glad the Fuhrer is old enough to be my father and married besides... unless you know something that I don't..." She looked at Mark questioningly.

The older man shook his head. "I was just saying that because of all of the rumors that are going around," he murmured. "It's almost like he's trying to play matchmaker or something..."

Rosette laughed. "Oh my, poor Roy! Why do I have the feeling that there is going to be some polite fighting going on later during this party?"

Mark thought about her comment and smirked. Even Envy was amused at the idea. "Probably because there _will_ be."

The redhead drained her glass of the melted water. "I think we better get back... My job is never done..."

Envy inwardly scowled. He hadn't used his time wisely and now he couldn't exactly make any moves on her with a crowd around. "Yeah..." the soldier only said with a sigh.

As the two came back inside, Pride, in the back of the large ballroom, observed with a keen eye. A small smile crossed his lips, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done.

Rosette found herself immediately corralled by Roy and led away, the older brother glaring at Mark over his shoulder.

Mark had to bite his lip to prevent himself from saying anything to Roy in response. It seemed like the presence of the colonel only served to anger Envy now.

Contrary to what she had told Mark, as Roy made the rounds with his sister in tow, she seemed to glow under her bother's gaze as she expertly charmed the people that she was introduced to.

The young soldier sighed, watching Rosette from far off. A small smirk formed. "I knew it," he remarked, her actions confirming his earlier suspicions about her leaving due to embarrassment.

Suddenly, from the roof, a loud crash sounded, quaking the building and calling everyone to attention. Without much warning, parts of the ceiling fall to the ground with a large _bang_ and sent everyone scattering to avoid getting hit with the rubble. Blue light flickered from the newly made hole of the roof before a man dropped down into the building and landed soundly on his feet. Two features that stood out on this man was his dark, copper-colored skin and his deep red eyes that burned with hatred. "This must be my lucky day," he remarked, "so many state alchemists in one place."

Rosette rolled in front of Roy, taking the rose from her hair. "_Son of Ishbala! What are you doing?_" She asked calmly in Ishbalian.

All of the people in the room panicked, knowing at once, that the Isbalian was the notorious Scar. The Fuhrer ordered the others to leave and scowled, not anticipating this to happen as he rose from his chair. Upon hearing Rosette speak in Ishbalian, he paused, wondering how she had learned the language.

Envy's eyes widened in shock. How in the hell could she approach Scar so calmly when he could easily kill her?

Scar, on the other hand, immediately froze, not imagining a white woman to know the language of his people. "_How do you know Ishbalian?_" he questioned.

"_I was born and raised in Ishbal._" She spoke haltingly as she searched for the words in a language that she had forgotten much of. "_My parents were not Ishbalian they worked in the... army?... as teachers_." Hearing movement behind her, she switched languages. "Don't move anybody, not until I'm finished."

King Bradley paused in midstep, his sword already at the ready if the time called for it. After all, regardless of his origin, Scar was still a wanted criminal and an annoying pest to the homunculi.

Scar's tattooed arm itched in anticipation, very much on guard as he listened to Rosette speak. "Why do you now stand among these people?" he growled, highly suspicious of her.

"_My family is dead. I too bear scars._" The redhead's face remained expressionless as she lifted up the hem of her green skirts high enough to show him a glimpse of the horrific scaring on her legs. "_In my case, there was nowhere else to go._"

"_And yet you're still among these people after they massacred our kin?_" Scar sounded almost disgusted with her.

"_Unlike you, I can't exactly get up and walk away. Ishbala preached forgiveness and compassion too, remember? Why kill them when they can't pay for their crimes in the grave._" Unnoticed, she turned the rose in her hand and stabbed her palm. "_Neither you or I have the right to judge for their crimes, only Ishbala has that right._"

Scar's eyes narrowed at her before finding that the woman had a point. "So you've forgiven them?" he questioned.

"_I believe that living with what they have done is punishment enough, and if they have not learned to value life and continue with their crimes, then let Ishbala deliver the punishment for all the crimes. Isn't that better than a quick death? If you kill them they will never have to face what they have done in its entirety._" Her voice was calm. "_Violence will breed nothing but more violence and pain. You cannot honor the dead by bathing in the bloods of revenge._"

The Ishbalan man blinked, letting her wise words sink into him. _"You must be the Daughter of Ishbala..._"He murmured, allowing her to see a glimpse of his shock before his expression dissolved back into its usual serious disposition.

Now it was the redhead's turn to blink. _"I apologize, I was very young when I was taken from my home." _Rosette sounded humble._ "I am not familiar with that phase my Brother."_

Scar's lips twitched into a small frown at her words. _"You are one with greater mercy than many others possess."_

_"I've learned to think and look at the others around me rather than focus solely on myself. It was the only good thing I could salvage from what happened to me." _Rose answered, then took her eyes off Scar for a minute and flinched in automatic reflex. "Roy, stop doing that before you cause an accident, let's not press our luck."

Behind her, Roy's overprotected mode kicked in. As much as he wanted to heed his sister's words, he was still angered at the fact that she was standing so close to a man that could easily take her hostage. When he saw his sister turn around to tell him to stop sparking his clothes, he immediately did so with an irritated outtake of air.

Clearly nervous now, Rosette squeezed her hand to allow the blood to flow as the transmutation circle she'd drawn onto her palm glowed in response. "_Almighty Ishbala, accept this offering..._" She whispered as a wall of blood red rose vines grew around her, separating Scar from the others "_You should go my Brother. I do not want you to suffer like I was forced to._" Rosette sounded sad.

Scar noticed that the marks on her leg were burns and then thought about how she flinched when the colonel made sparks with his gloves. It made sense to him. She feared fire. He knew that his will to kill others had been taken from him at the moment and could only nod his head. Giving her a look of thanks, Scar fled from the scene, busting out another window with his brand of alchemy in order to exit the building.

Taking several deep breaths, Rosette murmured something softly, letting the vines return to her as she took the rose in her other hand before tipping her cupped hand and letting the blood fall on them as an offering. However, there was still fear dancing in her grey eyes as the vines twisted protectively around her.

Mark was gaping at Rosette, never expecting the girl to have a source of power all her own. 'I thought she didn't know alchemy!' Envy mentally snapped. He was also annoyed that she allowed Scar to escape considering that all of his group wanted the man dead.

The other homunculus in the room never anticipated this from the girl even with his all-seeing eye in place. He knew that Rosette was quite cunning, but never thought the girl could use alchemy in such an inventive way.

Rosette hadn't withdrawn the blood-filled red vines, if anything, they seemed to be coiling affectionately around her, a small tendril shot up and wrapped around the wrist of her still bleeding hand as though cleaning it. Her eyes were wary, clearly expecting a fight and angry words.

The one man who did know about Rosette's abilities was livid with anger and shock. At once, the colonel rushed towards the woman with a glare that was heated enough to light a person on fire. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he snapped. When did she even get this powerful? "Since when could you even produce vines this large?"

Immediately the thorns grew out and pointed themselves as Roy in threat. "Protecting myself. I figured out what I did wrong." She stroked the rose vines soothingly, murmuring softly in Ishbalian, and they relaxed slightly.

Roy stood his ground despite knowing that the vines were sharp enough to stab through a man. "So you were experimenting behind my back?" he asked with an added growl in his voice.

"It wasn't on purpose, I discovered it by accident." Rosette replied.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Mark found himself annoyed at how the colonel continued to yell at the shaken woman. When he looked over at the Fuhrer, he could tell by the man's cold expression that he was also just as bothered by it.

The colonel let out a heavy sigh, attempting to calm himself, but was just as obviously failing at it. "Do you realize that you allowed a wanted criminal escape?" he demanded. "You basically committed an act of treason against the military and the people of this country."

"He didn't kill anyone and no one was hurt tonight. If I had let you all duke it out we'd all be buried alive, or do you not remember the Central library?" The vines pulsed as though getting fed in her fury, and blood trickled from her hand again.

Before Roy had the chance to say another word, a throat cleared behind him, making him immediately silence himself.

The Fuhrer had finally heard enough and knew that he had to clean up this mess himself. "Rosette, Colonel Mustang," he stated, looking at both of them as he stopped a few feet away from them. "Please calm yourselves."

Her face was slightly pale, but she murmured coaxingly to her roses, who didn't appear at all willing to withdraw from the way they stroked her face.

"You two are causing quite a scene," King Bradley added, pointing out how the attendees of the ball circled around them. "And despite how you have a very good point, Rosette, Colonel Mustang is also right," he said, his voice growing more firm.

"I take full responsibility sir, my only thought was saving lives." Rosette answered respectfully, stroking the thickest of the vines as though it was a cat.

"I understand that," the Fuhrer replied calmly. "However, I cannot let you go unpunished. If I allowed you to get off without any consequences, many others would think it would be safe to commit more treasonous acts against Amestris." His voice only continued to grow sterner towards her, making it the first time he had used such a tone with the woman he usually treated like a daughter of sorts.

At this, both Roy and Mark couldn't help but gasp. It was to be expected, but it was also hard to believe.

She nodded and bowed her head respectfully. "As you wish."

"You will be in my office tomorrow morning at seven o'clock exactly. Not a second later," the ruler said, obviously making it an order. "That is when I will tell you what I've decided to make your punishment."

"It will be my pleasure sir." Her voice was quiet.

King Bradley's eye flashed at the colonel, his hard expression almost seeming to dare Roy to protest. When he saw that the Flame Alchemist was even tame at his words, he eased up slightly and made to address the crowd. Raising his voice, he looked over the people and announced, "Due to these unfortunate circumstances, the ball is hereby cancelled. You are all free to leave."

The redhead did not move, all of her attention focused on the roses, murmuring softly in Ishbalian. After several minutes, they withdrew, but left a crown of themselves in her lap.

After a few minutes of silence, Mark decided to make his presence known. He stepped forward, making sure to maintain his distance from Rosette in case her vines decided to make a return. "Shall I escort you back to your place?" he offered to the woman.

Placing the crown on her head, the redhead nodded. "Thank you very much Mark."

The young soldier looked over at the woman's brother, silently asking for his permission.

Roy noticed Mark's expression, and gave a subtle nod of approval, knowing that Rosette needed space away from him at the moment.

Before leaving, Rosette quickly downed two cups of juice before leaving with Mark. "No need to hover Mark, I'll be all right, I didn't give that much."

Mark's expression showed nothing but worry for the young woman until she said those words to him. He let out a small breath in order to dissolve the emotion. By the time they were outside, he looked over the woman's beautiful and couldn't help but frown. "It's a shame that you got dressed up and didn't get the chance to do anything with it," he remarked.

Rosette smiled warmly. "There will be other parties. It's not a big deal Mark."

The young man returned the smirk as they began to walk down the street. "So that means I can see you in more beautiful dresses?" he teased.

"I only bought this one, and Roy pitched a huge fight and made me look at every other dress in Central first." Rosette admitted. "The only reason I got this one was he was too tired at the end of the day to fight with me anymore."

Mark let out a small laugh at her words. "That sounds like something he would do..." he remarked, wanting to lighten the mood a bit.

She laughed softly. "Yeah, tell me about it, I had a rip-roaring headache the whole night, but my stubbornness paid off."

"So, why were you so insistent on this dress in particular?" the older man questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I loved the color, and it fit me perfectly." Rosette blushed slightly. "Clothing has to feel good as well as look good."

"I agree," Mark replied with a chuckle. "I'm glad the dress worked out for you, though."

"Be honest, did I really look that pretty, because it felt like I was swimming in envious drool back there when brother made his rounds with me in tow."

Mark's eyes widened as he stopped walking. "...You actually think the men in there were pretending to find you beautiful?" he couldn't help but gasp out. How humble could this woman get?! He shook his head. "I assure you, Rosette," he began, his tone becoming more firm. "You were certainly the most beautiful woman at that ball."

"I know for a fact there were. Usually if they are interested is me, it's not me they are really after or interested in." She shook her head. "Been there, done that."

"Then, what are they interested in?" the soldier asked, growing curious.

"My brother's military connections for one."

Mark fell silent, knowing that she had a point. "...So, what?" he began. "Does that mean I was the only genuine person in the building?" The last sentence made him smirk.

"I don't know, I wasn't around any of them long enough to get a good enough impression of any of them."

Rosette shrugged. "Of course they were on their best behavior cause Roy was there too..."

The soldier found himself shrugging. "If you think that to be the truth, why did you ask me in the first place?" He couldn't help but find it slightly amusing.

"Because I can't see everything. I might notice certain things that other people miss, but the reverse is also true." Rosette replied, pausing to button up her coat against the breeze that blew, hiding her dress. "Besides, I'm the new person around here."

"I suppose that is true..." Mark murmured as they continued to near her place of residence. "Though, after tonight, you'll be well known around this country."

She raised her eyebrow. "What for?"

The older man tilted his head slightly, puzzled by how it wasn't already obvious to her. "What you did with Scar tonight," he replied. "You don't think that will get around to other people?"

"All I did was talk to him, okay lectured him."

"Lecture him while being wrapped around in vines..." Mark added. "It's not like anyone can claim to have done that."

"I didn't kill him, and any alchemist could do that if they wanted to." She shrugged. "Nothing special, just think for yourself, not follow the crowd."

The young man sighed, still surprised by her humbleness. He felt silent for a few moments, recalling their conversation with the Fuhrer. "Rosette..." he murmured. "Do you recall the conversation we had at the ball?"

"I remember. Roy was muttering under his breath."

"I was thinking about what the Fuhrer was saying..." Mark trailed off. "Have you ever thought about being in a relationship with me?" His tone was innocent and curious.

Rosette looked surprised. "Has he been throwing hints at you?" She asked, sounding protective.

The older man let out a small laugh. "He might have a few times, but that's not why I asked."

She raised an eyebrow. "If I said yes, is your head going to swell up?"

"I'd hope not," the young man replied with another chuckle.

Cocking her head to the side, she took a deep breath. "I'll admit you are very intelligent, polite and a very handsome man at that."

"Why, thank you," Mark replied with a smile. "I believe that you are a very intelligent, well-mannered, and beautiful woman also."

"What made you...?" She broke off her sentence, color flooding her cheeks "I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that..."

"'Made me' what?" the soldier pressed, sounding puzzled.

Color flowed hotter now. "What made you like me as more than just a friend?"

The older man nervously scratched the back of his head as he searched his mind for an answer. "To be honest... When I first saw you, I immediately felt an attraction towards you," he murmured. "I kind of had the feeling that this relationship would develop into something more for a while now."

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "You think maybe that it was a case of love at first sight?"

Mark blinked. "...But wouldn't that only be the case if the feeling was mutual from the first instant?" he asked.

"Not always. And just because you don't shout it from the rooftops doesn't mean it's not there."

The young man now found himself more interested in what she was trying to say. "So, did you feel anything when you first saw me?" he queried.

She laughed. "I would make a very poor spy wouldn't I?"

The soldier smirked. "Maybe..." he murmured. "I wouldn't suggest you look into that being your replacement career."

"I'll most likely end up opening a bookstore or the like if my writing doesn't take off."

"Ah," Mark said with a nod. "...So... Rosette..." he trailed off. "Knowing that your brother won't approve of it, would you considering going on a date with me sometime?" The smirk he now wore appeared mischievous, almost adding a sense of rebelliousness to his persona.

"I would like that very much." Rosette said simply. "Still let's wait until I'm out of the hot water..." She looked disappointed as the dorms came into view.

"That's fine with me," the older man responded without thinking, knowing that there were more important things to deal with at the moment. "I'm willing to wait as long as it takes."

Rosette frowned slightly as shot him a look as though wondering if Mark realized how harsh that sounded considering he had just asked her out, but kept moving

Mark blinked, inwardly wanting to smack himself as soon as the words left his mouth. "Wrong choice of words..." he murmured aloud with a slight cringe.

Still frowning, she didn't say anything for a moment as the dorms came into view. "Is shoving your foot into your mouth a trait all males share, or that just you and Roy?"

Mark raised his eyebrow at her. "I think most men do it a few times in their life."

"Uh huh..." Her tone spoke volumes of disbelief. The look on her sweet face mirrored her tone.

The older man offered up an unserious excuse. "Maybe men like us find ourselves drawn to you?"

"It must be, though I can't figure out why for the life of me..." She smiled slightly in amusement. "Well, I think we are close enough, I don't want you to get hurt by being on Roy's doorstep."

Mark returned the smile she gave him. "That would be unfortunate..." he agreed.

The redhead stopped. "Goodnight Mark. I'd say see you tomorrow but I'm not sure if I will."

The homunculus inwardly frowned. How could he prove that he was willing to take their relationship further? It then dawned on him that the only thing he could do went against everything he stood for. 'There's no way I can do that!' He growled to himself, even his mental thoughts sounding disgusted at the thought that crossed his mind. However, as his eyes looked at hers, the man murmured her name. Dammit… there isn't any other way!' Envy snarled. Stepping forward, he closed the gap that had been between them. Without proper warning, the homunculus in human disguise bent his head down and captured Rosette's lips in a tender and innocent kiss.

Hesitantly, Rosette chastely kissed him in return, her lips tasted like something sweet. She kept her hands at her sides, unsure of what to do with them as the rest of her froze in place.

Envy was inwardly shocked at the fact that he didn't find the contact disgusting at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He couldn't help but want even more, but pulled away before doing something he'd regret. "Sorry," he murmured with a smirk. "I probably should have warned you beforehand."

She blinked twice and said the first thing that came out of her mouth, Rosette was that shaken. "Please warn me the next time you try to turn my body into a lightening rod."

Mark couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips. "I'll be sure to do that in the future," he murmured. He knew that she had liked it since she had returned the kiss.

Looking nervous, she looked towards the dorms. "I better go." There was a mixture of disappointment and nerves in her voice.

The soldier nodded with a slight frown on his face. "Alright," he murmured. Forcing a smile, he added, "I hope to see you tomorrow." Inwardly, however, Envy was fuming with anger. The kiss he had sparked caused him suddenly to want to do even more with her and there was no way he could carry her off as he wanted without risking her or his own life.

"Wish me luck for tomorrow?" Rosette looked a little scared about her meeting with the Fuhrer tomorrow.

Mark managed another nod. "Of course," he replied before turning away in order to prevent himself from doing just as his mind wanted him to do. As he walked away from the young woman, a scowl lined his countenance. There was one thing he had on his agenda tomorrow, and that was to speak to the Fuhrer about the so-called "punishment" he had in store for Rosette.


	10. May the punishment fit the crime

Author's note: Thanks to Turtlequeen2 for all of her help with this chapter. Enjoy the read everyone!

* * *

The next morning Rosette was ready to do battle. Her short red hair looked neatly brushed back and her uniform freshly pressed. Her grey eyes burned with the light of battle, and she didn't acknowledge any of the officers she passed in the hallway. If she was worried about her punishment or lost any sleep over Roy's lecturing the night before, Rosette didn't show it. As a small act of defiance, she purposely knocked on the Fuhrer's door five minutes _before_ the time he had ordered her to be there by, greeting the secretary with the barest of nods.

The beautiful brown-haired secretary looked slightly bemused at Rosette's timing, not sure if the Fuhrer was finished with his conversation with the other man inside of the office. When the younger woman's eyes weren't on hers, the secretary smirked_. 'If Pride thinks that this girl will apologize for what she did, he better think again...' _

Envy, who was currently engaged in a conversation with Pride, stiffened immediately upon hearing the knock on the door. _'Of course she would come early!'_ he mentally growled, knowing very well who it was. Using his agile speed, he quickly transformed from his original homunculus form into his most frequently used human disguise.

The aging homunculus merely raised his eyebrow, already sitting behind his desk and prepared for whatever the human had to throw at him. "You may come in," he remarked.

Rosette opened the door and rolled into the room, saluting sharply, battle light making her gray eyes blaze.

Envy mentally cringed upon seeing the look on the woman's face. _'...I need to remember not to piss her off while I'm in this form...'_ he remarked to himself while silently standing beside the Fuhrer's desk.

"You requested to see me sir?" Her voice was mild.

King Bradley gave no reaction to her simmering fury, but rose from his chair. "Yes," he answered. "As you already know from yesterday, I plan to not let your actions go unpunished."

"As I said, I accept full responsibility."

The Fuhrer nodded his head. "And as much as I dislike doing this, I must ensure that the public takes notice of this as well," he remarked in a stern tone. "I do not want anyone to think that such behavior is tolerable in this military or country."

"I understand, Sir. However, if I hadn't acted, the party would have become a bloodbath."

"I am also aware of this," King Bradley replied, "Which is why I didn't have you arrested for outright treason." Narrowing his visible eye, he added, " I have made multiple decisions. The first of which is that you will be moved to a place of residence I choose for you for a period of time."

Rosette narrowed her eyes. "Roy won't like that at all."

"The Colonel doesn't have to like my decision to abide by my orders," the Fuhrer said in a serious tone, implying that when it came down to it, Roy had to follow his commands.

"That's true," The redhead replied, though her tone said she didn't quite believe him.

"You are also not allowed to travel unless under my direct orders," the Fuhrer continued. "Until you pass the State Alchemist exam, I will not authorize you permission to use alchemy in public or allow you move from that place I picked out for you."

"State Alchemist Exam?!" Rosette all but yelled. "Why am I taking that?"

Mark also narrowed his eyes out of impulse. _'What the hell is he thinking?!'_ he mentally growled. _'How would making her a 'dog of the military' help with our plans?!'_

"I don't need to take an exam to use alchemy. If that were the case, you would have to round up every other alchemist and make the exam a requirement for using alchemy, not just for entry in the military," The redhead continued, thinking fast.

The aging homunculus's eye narrowed even more. "You need to be trained _properly_ before you end up hurting yourself!" he snapped. Moving out from behind his desk, he walked towards her and reached a hand down to cup under her chin. "I do not wish to see you put yourself into such danger again unless I'm certain that you're able to control such abilities."

Rosette looked surprised that the Fuhrer had her chin in his hand. "The amount of blood I give as an offering is controlled, only a little is needed depending on what I'm doing. My alchemy is much more personal than the type you are taught." She shrugged. "Think of it as equivalent exchange taken to the next level."

Kind Bradley slow drew his hand away from her chin as he absorbed her words. "Regardless, I am not changing my decision."

"There are exceptions to any rule. Sometimes it is better to figure things out on your own before you decide to see the rulebook. I can think for myself and I don't worry about what 'everyone' else says."

"Admirable traits," the aging leader remarked. Looking over at Mark who surprisingly had chosen to remain silent for the entire duration, he explained, "As for your housing arrangements, I have chosen your bodyguard to live with you for security purposes."

Now she suddenly noticed 'Mark' standing there for the first time. However, she was eyeing him as though her bodyguard and the Fuhrer had each spouted second heads. "Duel houses?" She asked.

"Of course not," the Fuhrer replied, trying not to show his amusement to her reaction. "However, you two will each get your own room."

"Locks on the bedroom doors?"

"Yes," King Bradley answered with a nod.

She ran her head though her hair. "Maybe I won't die after all..." Rosette muttered.

Envy looked incredulously at his superior, only acting the part since he'd already been told of this before Rosette even walked through the door. "Me living with her?" he murmured in shock. "Isn't this a bit unorthodox?"

"I'd understand if we were living in the same house on separate floors, but the way you've appeared to arrange things, people are going to talk and think that something's going on."

The stern look returned to the Fuhrer's face multifold. "Unless you want to actually _wed_ Lieutenant Stone, there should be no problem. Colonel Mustang can't keep a watch over you for the rest of your life nor are you technically in the military so such conduct would be acceptable."

Rosette's answer was to raise her eyes to the sky and murmur something in Ishballan. From the tone of it, it was a plea for understanding and patience. Turning her attention back to the Fuhrer she merely said: "Yes Sir."

Envy was immediately able to pick up on Rosette's words and withheld the urge to laugh. Since she wasn't to know that he could understand Ishballan as a "human," he kept his silence.

King Bradley shook his head slightly, his sternness beginning to evaporate. "You will move within a few days," he stated. "Unless you have any questions, you two are dismissed."

"Are you informing Roy of this or am I?" The redhead asked.

"I'll give you the courtesy of doing that," the Fuhrer answered, patting the girl's head as if she were his own daughter. "If he has any problems, he can take it up with me."

"I think you'd better count on that," Rosette answered, saluting again before leaving.

Mark gave a salute of his own before exiting the room beside the young woman. As soon as they were out of the Fuhrer's hearing distance, he let out a sigh. "...I never thought this would happen..." he murmured.

"Neither did I. Damnit! Roy is not going to like this..." Clearly, Rosette was not at all pleased about this.

The older man inwardly cringed. "...I have a feeling someone's going to go deaf tonight..." he remarked.

"I don't know what's going to be worse, telling him I have to become a State Alchemist or telling him I have to live in an unknown place with you under house arrest."

Mark shook his head. "...I don't know what the Fuhrer's thinking..." he remarked. "It's like he wants the Colonel to burn down Central."

"I think he might be trying to discredit him." The redhead muttered darkly, coming to Roy's office, she sighed and squared her shoulders. "Wait here, Mark." Then she knocked on the door.

"Right..." Mark murmured, already bracing for the yelling he'd hear from the outside.

Roy, completely unaware of these developments, sounded as if he was in good spirits when he called for his sister to open the door.

His sister rolled into the room then shut the door firmly behind her.

The colonel looked up from his paperwork when heard the harm slamming of the door. A small frown marred his face, knowing that something wrong. "What's bothering you?"

You want the bad news or the _really_ bad news? And take off those gloves." Rosette's temper was sharp.

Roy's eyes already narrowed, knowing that his sister's request about his gloves were not good. "Okay..." he trailed off, taking off the gloves and putting them on the end of his desk. "...What is the bad news?"

The bad news is that I'm going to be placed under house arrest in a place of the Fuhrer's choosing with Mark," Rose said quietly.

Eerie silence settled over the siblings like a black blanket. A minute passed with the colonel just staring back at the woman as he tried to process her words. The tense atmosphere spiked when he finally yelled, "WHAT?!"

"It gets worse." She told her brother. "Apparently I will remain under house arrest until I take _and_ pass the State Alchemist exam."

Roy's right eye twitched repeatedly, finding himself disliking his leader more and more. "...What the hell is that supposed to accomplish?!" he demanded, standing up in his chair and slamming his fists down onto his desk.

"He says it's for my protection to learn alchemy properly," Rosette replied, fingering the hole in her left palm.

The colonel felt the rising temptation to assassinate the Fuhrer as he brooded over this news. "The hell it is!" he snapped. "He probably thinks he can use you for the military!"

"I highly doubt that, my brother," Rosette said quietly. "The way it sounded, I think it was the fact that I had to use my own blood that scared him."

Roy let out a shaky breath, attempting to calm himself and think rationally. "...What's the point of making you move into a house with your bodyguard?" he demanded. "It's almost like the Fuhrer's trying to play matchmaker with you two..."

"I couldn't tell you that, except that the Fuhrer wants to make sure I stay where he puts me." She shrugged. "There will be locks on the bedroom doors though, I already asked."

The colonel felt part of him relax at the mention of locks. "I still don't like this one bit, Rosette..." Roy growled, no longer shouting.

"You think _I_ like it?" Rosette snapped, still angry. "It's not right!"

Roy brought a hand up to his forehead, seeming to steady himself for the oncoming migraine he was going to soon receive. "It's not like I can make him change his mind because of what happened yesterday..." he groaned out.

"I know that, I'm not stupid, but that doesn't mean I like this any more than you do! Less actually. It's indecent for a woman to live with a man she is not married or related to!"

The older man slowly found himself nodding his head, not knowing that her culture believed in something like that when it came to marriage.

She balled her hands into fists. "I only hope I am forgiven for this..." Rosette muttered, forgetting Roy was there.

Roy frowned. "...It's not like this place is known for religious freedom..." he remarked aloud.

"I know that, remember," She rubbed her unfeeling legs in an uneasy gesture, as though making sure they were still there.

The older man realized what he said and felt his fists tighten out of impulse. "Sorry," he remarked softly.

"It's okay." she said softly, looking away from him.

Letting out a deep, calming breath, Roy sat back down. "...I don't think it will do me any good to talk to him..." he murmured. "I would probably risk getting thrown into prison..."

"I understand, but I wanted to let you know what was decided, I'm not sure if I'm allowed visitors."

The colonel slowly moved out from behind his desk and stepped in front of his sister before bending out and hugging her. "I'm sorry," he repeated in her ear.

Slowly, she hugged back, shaking slightly since she was trying not to cry.

Roy's eyes widened out of realization as his embrace tightened around his sister. The real reason she let Scar go free was because she felt lonely and seeing him made her feel less suffocated as an Ishballan practitioner.

A few minutes later, Rosette drew away, blinking back the tears she would not shed. "I move in a few days."

The colonel let out a heavy sigh. "...Is there anyone that will help you move your things?" he asked.

"I don't have that much but knowing the Fuhrer, I think he'll use my house arrest as an excuse to give me things to keep me comfortable." She sighed. "Mark was right... I think he sees me as his honorary daughter."

Roy frowned at the thought. "...I find that suspicious..." he admitted.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," His sister advised

The older man fell silent again before murmuring, "I hope your bodyguard knows that if he does anything to upset you, I'm not going to hold back on him."

"I think he's more afraid of what I'll do then of you." She smiled.

Roy found himself smirking at her words. "...He should be," he remarked.

She held up her palm, showing him the hole in her hand. "I know."

---------------

Three days after Fuhrer King Bradley sentenced Rosette to live with Mark, the couple stood outside of the small house, watching as various personnel moved their things into the rooms. Though neither person had much, the Fuhrer had insisted on at least Rosette not having to lift a finger during this process.

"At least he didn't go overboard..." The redhead said, eyeing the house carefully, but staying out of the way. "I was half afraid the house would be way too big..." They had walked around the perimeter and, after entering the home though the back door, were currently inspecting the kitchen. It was actually a cozy one with a breakfast nook made for two, and for once, Rosette could get to almost everything. Still, she frowned at the upper cupboards. "A few minor tweaks and it should be fine." Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she looked at Mark. "What do you think?"

Mark looked around the kitchen, noticing the dark green painted walls. "I think it's nice," he admitted. "What do you think?"

"I like it, green is a restful color, not an overly cheerful one that will blind you in the morning when you enter the room." She smiled. "It goes well with the wood floors and table too."

"It's good that we both agree," the soldier commented, returning his own smile. "I would probably dislike repainting the walls..."

"I'd help you if you really wanted to repaint a room."

"Hmm..." Mark trailed off, trying to remember the wall colors in the other rooms of the house. "I think the overall design is satisfactory enough for now."

The redhead nodded as they moved into the living room. Rosette flinched when she saw the unlit fireplace. "It is just me, or do you get the feeling the Fuhrer's trying to play house?" She asked to cover her unease.

Mark followed the woman into the room and raised his eyebrow at the fireplace. "...It sure seems like it..." he murmured.

"I think he has way too much time on his hands," Rosette said, rolling though the room and opening the door. Seeing that it was a study/personal library, she grinned. "I claim this one." Her eyes lit up as she rolled to one of the shelves, caressing the books with her left hand as though greeting old friends. "I think I'll be right at home in here..."

The older man's eyes momentarily narrowed for a few seconds as if he were growing jealous of the books Rosette caressed. How was it that such items could evoke such passionate emotions from her while he had to work so hard just to get her to notice him?

The redhead was still smiling when she turned back to him. "Would you like to go to your room and make sure everything is all right there?" She asked politely.

Mark immediately brought his smile back into place before she faced him. "That'd be great, actually," he replied, leading the way down a hall and into a small bedroom. A bed was already set up and in place by an antique, brown dresser. A small bookshelf was set behind a pile of boxes. "...This is simple enough," he commented.

Rosette stayed in the doorway. "It looks like a good, clean place to relax at the end of the day." She agreed. "I wish my brother would take notes on that." Approval warmed her voice. "My room is just down the hall, I'll let you unpack and get settled in Mark."

The soldier let out a small laugh at her words about Roy. Nodding his head at her suggestion, he replied, "Once you get done, we could probably go out to eat somewhere."

"I'm housebound remember? We'll have to eat in."

Mark let out a sigh, just now realizing the entirety of what the Fuhrer meant. "Fine, then..." he trailed off. "One of us can cook for tonight."

"I'm not a bad cook, but I cook mostly simple stuff," The redhead said humbly.

"I can make a few things..." the older man explained. "As long as you're not going to ask me to bake anytime soon…"

"I've yet to master that art I'm afraid." Then she smiled. "However, we have time to learn."

"I guess so," Mark admitted in agreement. "Until then, that would mean that a lot of bread will be store-bought."

"You can still go out." Rosette pointed out. "I promise to behave and stay here."

The lieutenant nodded his head even though he was inwardly amused by her words. "Alright, then," he remarked. "If you did manage to get out, I think my head would be on the chopping block, too."

Nodding in agreement, she grinned. "If they could catch me." Still smiling, she backed out of the room and left him in peace.

Once the woman left the room, Envy sat down on his head and frowned, knowing that he would not be able to be in his original form in the house. He had gotten used to the human form he lived under, but still preferred his homunculus form the best. Aside from that issue... _'How the hell am I supposed to get closer to Rosette?'_ he asked himself. Now that the two lived together, there was bound to be times where they could be by themselves.

---------------

A few hours later, when everyone had cleared out except for the two of them, Rosette escaped to the garden for a few minutes in the fresh air. Mark was brooding in his room and she didn't want to disturb him as she watched the sunset and sang softly in Ishballan. As she allowed her thoughts to drift, she wondered about Scar and how he was doing, sending a prayer that he was all right wherever he was.

Envy, who by this time had formulated a satisfactory plan, got up from his bed and went out into the yard to check on Rosette. He could tell that she was deep in thought based on how she didn't even turn to acknowledge him for the first few moments he stood in the door way.

Finishing the evening prayer, Rosette bowed her head in a silent salute to her God before turning back towards the house. "Feel better now that you are settled?" She asked quietly as she rolled towards him.

"Much better, actually." The homunculus in disguise confirmed with a nod as he watched her approach him. "How about you?"

"Yes, I'm glad everything is quiet now. Are you growing hungry?"

"I could eat now if you're hungry," Mark answered with a smile.

"A snack will do nicely; it's been a long day."

"It has been..." the man trailed off with a sigh. He moved out of the way of the door in order to let her inside before he led the way into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this," She said, reaching for an apple and offering it to him.

Mark took the apple and wiped it clean with his shirt, trying not to show how astounded he was at her words. Despite how much they had been through together, she still was humble enough to apologize to him. "...Well, I'd rather spend all of this time with you rather than anyone else," he admitted with a smirk. "And if this is under executive order, it's not like I can refuse anyways."

"But this is not your punishment, you weren't even involved." Rosette chose another apple for herself before taking a knife and small cutting board to the table so that she could slice up her snack. "He could have at least asked you instead of making it an order and making it sound like he was blaming you too."

"He probably figured that since I was your bodyguard, I was the only one who would be able to properly protect you in this environment," Mark said with a shrug before taking a bite into his apple. "I think, either way, he was planning to move you from Colonel Mustang's watch."

"You make it sound like they hate each other," She said, not looking up from her apple.

The soldier shrugged. "I know that Colonel Mustang never enjoyed serving under the Fuhrer," he admitted. "It wasn't like he kept that completely hidden. I'm pretty sure that the Fuhrer knows that as well."

"Even so, Roy is my family. Why would the Fuhrer remove me from his watch?" The redhead cut the core from the slices.

"To assert his authority over Colonel Mustang?" Mark guessed. Inwardly, however, Envy scowled. '_Why does she always have to be so damn sharp?'_

"You are forgetting that I am not, strictly speaking, a member of the military." Rosette pointed out.

Not wanting her to continue to pry into certain plans, Mark offered her a plate from the cupboard before making to steal a piece she had cut. Flashing a mischievous smirk at the young lady, he remarked, "There's no reason to keep dwelling upon it, though. We're stuck here so we might as well make the best of it for now." Going to make up for the piece he stole, he handed her his apple.

Instead of biting into it, she simply took the knife and took out a slice before putting the rest of her apple on the offered place and cleaning up her mess. "Thank you."

"No problem," he smirked, taking back his share and taking another bite into it.

Only after she scraped the remains of her apple core into the trashcan and cleaned the items she had used did she start eating her apple, the edges were slightly brown and soft, but Rosette didn't seem to mind considering she appeared to be enjoying her treat.

Mark watched her tidy habits, inwardly admitting that he didn't seem to mind them. After watching Gluttony tear humans apart on a nightly basis, Envy didn't mind staying with a clean person.

Rosette looked much happier after she finished her apple and licked her slender fingers clean of apple juice before taking her dish to the sink to wash it and her hands. "That was very good."

The older man watched her silently as he finished eating his own apple. He threw the remaining core into the trashcan before going to wash his own hands. Turning back towards her, he remarked, "It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it?"

"I live by the motto 'Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die'. The simplest things in life are often better than piles of money and fancy things. Why break your back working to get rich when you can't take it with you in the end?" Rosette shrugged. "We only live so long, why not be rich with happiness?"

"That's a good motto..." Mark replied, thinking about how wise the young woman could be.

"I love life much than most people. It's only when you loose something that you come to value it." Her voice was quiet as she rubbed her unfeeling legs before backing away from the sink.

"I guess that's why they say 'You never know what you have until it's gone,' " the soldier murmured.

"You'd be surprised that most people won't or can't learn from it." Rosette sighed and turned to face Mark.

The older man nodded his head. "It often happens when humans are consumed by greed," he murmured, knowing from first-hand experience how the lowest of humans behaved.

" 'Humans'?" She repeated, cocking her head to the side.

Envy inwardly growled at his wording, quickly realizing that living with Rosette would have even more disadvantages. He would always have to be on alert with whatever he said. Thinking fast, he remarked, "I meant, us, as a species."

"Ah." Rosette answered.

Relieved that she bought his lie, Envy moved forward to grab a hold of the woman's hands, wanting to wipe the incident completely from her mind. "Rosette..." he trailed off.

Looking surprised, she thumped back to the here-and-now, jarred out of her thoughts as she reflexively returned his hold. "What?"

"I was thinking about the kiss we shared the other night..." Mark murmured softly. "Did you like it as much as I did?"

"I would have slapped you if I didn't." She looked confused.

"Good reply," the soldier chuckled. "So if I asked you if we could do it again, would you object to it?"

"No but... aren't we putting the cart before the horse Mark?"

Realizing what she meant, he let go of her hands and let out a sigh. "...The more I think about this situation, the more unorthodox it seems..." he grumbled.

"I know. I just don't want us to get caught up in whatever romantic notions the Fuhrer is trying to put us up to before we are really ready for them." She looked away. "It should be done when we are ready, not because people are hinting and pushing us into it."

Mark's eyes widened in surprise. He was touched at how much she truly cared about their relationship. He nodded his head slowly, finding that he didn't want to lose her trust by continuing to be so forward with her. "I understand..." he murmured. "It would be best if we waited a bit longer..."

"I think the problem with more people is that they jump into things without thinking first. They are too willing to go with the dreams of the crowd instead of following their own paths," Rosette said, leading Mark into the living from but parking next to the couch as far from the fireplace as she could.

The soldier sat down beside her on a couch, trying his best not to outwardly frown as he thought through her words. As much as he hated to admit it, Envy didn't feel as confident lying to her as he used to.

Rosette sighed. "There are things about me that you don't know yet, and you know more about me then I do of you."

Envy felt himself succumbing to temptation again when he reached out to hold her hand once more. With a new mindset, he vowed that he would court her until she told him everything he wanted to know.

---------------

A few days later, an elderly woman looked up from her gardening and smirked. "I was wondering if you were coming to visit your mother," She remarked in an amused tone as she tended another plant.

Envy bit the inside of his mouth to prevent himself from scowling as he stood before the woman in his original form. "I want to know my next set of orders," he stated, his tone as sharp as a razor blade. He wanted to get in and out of the place as soon as he could.

"First, I want your report to know what your assessment of her is. Pride isn't around her as much as you've been," Dante answered. "Do you think she could be useful, or is she more of a danger to us?"

The young homunculus resisted the urge to turn around and walk off. He should have expected such a thing from her. "I think she's very useful," Envy admitted slowly.

"How so? Coming from you, that is quite a statement."

"Well, for one... she's a direct pathway to one of our planned sacrifices," the homunculus explained.

Dante's head snapped up. "Would it throw him off the scent?" She was unnerved enough that she slowly got to her feet. "Pride told me that one of his Colonel's was starting to nose around more then he should."

Envy nodded his head, knowing that the colonel was an irritating human. "I think he's close to finding out the truth because he's been snooping around even before his sister was brought to Central," he admitted in an annoyed voice. "He's been trying to figure out who really killed his fallen comrade and all of that meaningless nonsense."

"Would she help him if he asked her?" Her old eyes narrowed. "Could she ruin everything we are working for?"

The homunculus frowned, knowing how intelligent Rosette was. "...Yes, there is that chance..." he growled.

"Is there any chance she could gain power in her own right?"

"If Pride allows her to become a State Alchemist like he plans to, then yes," Envy murmured, the scowl now showing on his features.

"Pride told me that this was the only way to keep an eye on her." The elderly woman frowned. "I take it that you don't agree with that?"

"I don't know what he's planning to do if more war breaks out," the homunculus replied. "Is he willing to sacrifice our pawn?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Dante asked her son and raised her eyebrow. "She doesn't seem like the type that gets distracted or put off from what Pride said."

Envy fell silent for a few moments before murmuring, "I think we should distract her observant eyes with frayed emotions."

"Arrange a romance, you mean? Yes... that could work. But... you have been known to loose interest in things, unless you are having fun?" She looked at her son. "Is she that interesting to you that you would keep her as a toy?"

The homunculus resisted the urge to sigh. Why did everyone question his motives specifically when it came to Rosette? "I'll promise to behave for once and not kill her if she becomes boring," he grumbled.

Dante chuckled. "Pride also expressed an interest in the girl."

"I've noticed that," Envy replied bluntly.

"How far are you planning to go with the girl?" His mother was amused by this.

"As far as I need to go," the homunculus answered.

"How intelligent is she? I'm curious."

"I suppose I could say it this way..." Envy trailed off. "Even though Pride said he'd give her as many chances as it took to pass the State Alchemist exam, he told me that he believes she would pass it the first time around."

"You think that is what she wants?"

Her son gave a snort. "Of course not," he replied. "But it's not like she can do anything to protest it. She committed a public crime by letting Scar go free."

Dante frowned. "That worries me. Why did she do that...?" She sat at the table next to Envy. "Court her, do whatever you have to, even marry her if it comes to that. She's someone we can't afford to leave at loose ends. If you can't handle it, give her to Pride."

Envy shook her head. "I'm trying to figure that out for myself," he admitted. "I'm sure Colonel Mustang knows perfectly well why she let Scar go, but it's not as if he would tell anyone." Upon hearing her commands, he then nodded his head in understanding.

"If she is distracted, so will her brother."

"I'd only assume so," Envy replied. "He's so protective of her..."

"Do you think that they are hiding something?"

Remembering the past conversation he had with Rosette, the homunculus nodded. "I think they're both hiding something very big..." he admitted in a serious tone.

"Will she tell you what it is?"

Envy nodded again. "She told me that depending how long our relationship will last, she'll eventually tell me things about her past because she believes that we can't go beyond friends unless I know more about her."

"Is she interested in you beyond friends or do you think she's stalling for time?"

The homunculus blinked. "Stalling for what?"

Dante smiled. "She might be waiting to see who will rule in your relationship."

Her son's eyes darkened slightly. The thought of a human ruling over him sent chills up his spine.

Seeing his discomfort, Dante chuckled again.

Envy's eyes narrowed back at his mother, deciding to ask, "How do you suppose I can ensure that I keep the upper hand in the relationship?"

"Act first. Don't let her call all the shots. Snatch every opportunity to show affection and don't be coy in letting other men know that she is yours," His mother said after absorbing the surprise. "Show an interest in what she does and thinks."

He sat in silence, taking in all of what she said. He was already doing half of those things. "I suppose it won't kill me to try..."

Dante smirked. "Surprises are going to be your best weapon."

Envy let out a snort. "I knew that already," he remarked. The kiss was proof enough.

She smiled at her son. "Come back if you need more advice." The elderly woman seemed vastly amused that her seemingly immortal son had only now seemed to have his first crush.

The young homunculus stood up from his seat and tried not to get an even more annoyed look on his countenance. "Sure," he commented, not sure if he even meant his words. After giving his "mother" one last look, he shifted back into Mark's human form and glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "If there's nothing else you need to tell me, I'm leaving," he announced.

"Yes Envy, you'd better hurry and make sure the pet is behaving and not sneaking out." Dante laughed.

Envy almost frowned at her words. He didn't know if he was more annoyed at how Dante referred to Rosette or if he was worried about the fact that Rosette would try to sneak out while he was away. "I'm on it," he assured the woman before exiting the room.

---------------

Hearing the door shut about a half an hour later, Rosette looked towards the doorway. "Mark? Is that you?"

"Yeah," Mark responded as he walked towards Rosette. "Have you been worried about me or something?"

"You have good timing, I was just finishing my snack and I made you a plate too in case you were hungry." She gestured to the plate of cheese and crackers. When she smiled at him, you could almost see the lady adding a point to her side of the board.

The older man gave her a smile of gratitude. "Thank you," he remarked, reaching towards the plate and picking it up into his hands.

"You are very welcome." Looking pleased, the redhead finished cleaning up the kitchen, humming quietly as she worked.

Envy idly watched her work, frowning as he stood in deep thought. _'Who's really winning the mental battle here?'_ he pondered to himself. _'I need to make my next move soon... Winning her complete trust and love is top priority now.'_ Putting the plate down on a nearby table, he continued to watch over Rosette. _'I'm going to have to make the best of this situation Pride has provided me...'_ he thought to himself with an inward smirk.


	11. Light of truth lies exposed

Author's note: Hello again, sorry this chapter took so long! Once again thanks to Turtlequeen2 for all of her help with this chapter. Please enjoy the read.

* * *

Breathing in the cool air, Rosette lifted her face to the rising sun, feeling the slight kiss of warmth against her closed eyelids. Raising her hands to the heavens, she smiled as she quietly sang the morning prayer to Ishbala. "Thank you for this day, guide us as we walk in Your grace. Bless the land You've made fertile and bless the people so that their hearts will remain open as we praise the Glory of Your everlasting love. Smile with kindness upon those who do Your will... and... Please help me do what is right by the land of my heart and the land of my birth..." The last sentence was a personal entreaty as a single tear slid down her cheek.

Within a nearby tree in the yard sat a man whose red eyes followed Rosette's movements very closely. Being respectful to her prayer, he did nothing and waited for her to finish before jumping down from the high branch and landing a few feet away from her.

It wasn't until she had finished her prayer by crossing her arms over her chest and bowing as low as her body permitted that the redhead opened her eyes and saw her audience. "Brother?" She exclaimed in the foreign tongue native to Amestris.

Scar wore a serious expression on his face as he stood in front of her. "Be at ease," he murmured in Amestrian. "I've come to speak with you on a few issues."

A brief look of confusion flashed over her face, but the girl slowly nodded. "All right, I'm listening."

"I've heard that you've been punished for letting me escape..." he began. "Are they treating you unjustly?" The Ishballan man seemed prepared to bust her out of her shackles on his own if she wanted it.

"I'm under house arrest with a guard... a male guard... and I won't be released until I take their Alchemy Exam..." She said softly, bowing her head to hide the tears of shame in her eyes.

Scar's eyes narrowed, annoyed at the circumstances. "Do you want to escape?" he questioned.

"Where would I go?" Rosette asked, gesturing to her useless legs. "By Ishballan laws, I'm ruined for marriage, and they would never accept a foreigner in Ishballa's service as a Temple Maiden."

The man almost frowned at her words. She had a few good points. "You're prepared to live out this sentence they have given you?"

"I don't see any choice but to take that ugly exam... I hope Ishballa forgives me for it, but I believe that everything happens for a reason... it just has to." The last part of the sentence sounded desperate and pleading; a soul at war with two worlds within herself.

Scar seemed to sense the conflicting parts of her and decided to ask what drew his curiosity. "How did you come to be a sister of Ishballa?"

"My mother and father were soldiers of the land of Amestris. They were teachers. Father taught in the schoolroom, mother was a dancer. I was born and raised in Ishbal because my parents fell in love with the land and its people. They were talking about retiring from the military and fully converting to Ishballa..." Rosette swallowed. "Then the war started and in one night my world was torn apart..."

The Ishballan man nodded. "As were many others..." he murmured solemnly.

"I was the only survivor in my village. To this day, I still don't know how."

Scar cast an idle look at his tattooed arm, wondering if it was safe for him to mention what happened to him.

"I use alchemy even though it's forbidden, but it is the only way to defend myself seeing as I can't do the smart thing and run away. It's not an excuse, but I'm trying the best I can to do so in a way that honors Ishballa..." The redhead took a deep breath.

He didn't say anything to that statement. He had his own sins to atone for whether or not he wanted to admit them. However, another thing bothered him. "You mentioned a guard..." he murmured. "Has he been acting inappropriately in relations to you?"

"He kissed me... Once," she admitted, blushing in mingled surprise and shame.

Scar's eyes narrowed again, feeling tempted to use his arm on a non-state alchemist for once. "Yet another insult this country has done to our people..."

The redhead's eyes widened, realizing that telling Scar that might _not_ have been a wise move. "It went no further than that!" She stammered nervously.

Hearing her response made him calm slightly. For some reason she _almost_ amused him.

"Besides, if you hurt him, _I'll_ get blamed for it!" Rosette pointed out. The redhead was hoping to save Mark's butt.

Scar relented. "I give you my word that I will not harm him unless provoked first," he murmured.

Rosette sighed and looked relieved. "Thank you, Brother."

The older man's expression grew serious again. "That guard better have some honorable intentions..." He murmured.

She looked away from the piercing ruby eyes. "He seems to; he hasn't pushed for another kiss- or anything else."

Before Scar could react, the back door of the house swung open revealing a shaken up Mark. The guard rushed to Rosette's side in an instant. _'I can't leave her alone for a minute without her getting into trouble!'_ He mentally growled.

Rosette looked amused and shrugged at Scar. "Don't panic, Mark. He wouldn't hurt me."

Scar's eyes narrowed impulsively at Mark, still annoyed at him for what Rosette told him he did.

The redhead ignored her guard's nudging. "Thank you for praying with me, Scar. It was very nice hearing another voice besides my own again."

The Ishballan man gave a nod. Turning towards Mark, he stated, "You should marry her if you want more than a kiss from this Maiden of Ishballa." Knowing that nothing more would come of their encounter, he said his piece and left the yard.

Rosette blushed and sighed, watching him leave sadly before rolling back inside the house, hearing Mark sputter behind her. Deciding to act normally, she began slicing up fruit for their breakfast.

After getting his mind back into place, Mark stared at the back of Rosette's head in shock. "...What did he say to you?" he immediately demanded.

The redhead kept her head bent over her apple. "He wanted to know if I was being treated well here." She sounded completely calm about the whole Scar affair.

Mark raised his eyebrow at her calm tone. _'Why do I feel like she's not telling the whole story?' _he thought to himself, inwardly annoyed.

"Would you like an apple with your breakfast too?" Rosette asked as she placed apple slices on the plate he had handed her.

"Sure..." the soldier replied in a more hesitant tone than he meant since he was caught off guard by her question.

She retrieved another apple, but put it on the counter to fuss with a pan on the stove, adding a small bit of butter to grease it. "You can have the one I just sliced. Eggs?"

Mark blinked. "If you're willing to make them... Scrambled is just fine," he remarked. He knew that if he kept turning down her offers to eat more food, she would just start worrying about him.

Rosette turned her head and smiled at him before getting four eggs out. "All right," she hummed softly as she broke two eggs into the pan, stretching slightly to see better. "May I have two of the larger plates please?"

"Sure," the older man murmured, walking to the particular cupboard and got out the needed plates before handing them to her. Inwardly, the oddness of this new life began to sink in. _'I can't believe I'm helping a human with cooking preparations!' _he mentally growled despite how part of him didn't hate it completely.

When her sunny-side-up eggs were ready, she slid them on her plate before breaking the other two and scrambling them as the homunculus had asked her to. "Were you going out today Mark?"

"Yes," Mark replied with a slight nod of his head. "I hope you'll be able to find something to occupy your time…"

"Roy says that he is coming over to check on me with lunch. He wants to make sure I'm studying the right things." She jiggled the eggs to make sure they cooked evenly.

"Oh?" the soldier remarked, inwardly intrigued by this statement. _'I always wanted to know what those two talked about when no one's around...' _he admitted to himself.

"He would have visited me earlier, but the Führer wouldn't let him before now." The redhead turned off the stove, put Mark's eggs on the plate and smiled at Mark. "There you go."

Mark took the plate, taking in the information she supplied before getting out a fork and returning the smile with one of his own. "Thanks."

Rosette lightly salted and peppered her eggs before getting a fork and joining him at the small table, forgetting about her apple.

The older man took a bite out of his eggs and swallowed before replying, "You make pretty good eggs."

"Eggs aren't hard to make so long as you don't walk away from the stove." Rosette cut off a portion of her own eggs. "Roy eats them scrambled too; it drives him nuts I eat them sunny with yolk."

Mark let out a small laugh at that. "Why?" He asked, not finding it weird at all.

"He says that if the yolk runs it's not cooked enough." She shrugged and took another bite.

The soldier shook his head and took another bite out of his food. He paused, looking up and watching Rosette eat. It was then that he realized that they had already fallen into a married lifestyle. The very thought nearly made him smirk. _'I bet that colonel is _pissed _just thinking about it...'_

Seeing Mark watching her eat, she paused with a forkful halfway to her mouth, a question in her eyes. "Egg on my face?" She asked.

Mark shook his head, letting out a chuckle. "No, it's nothing," he assured her, beginning to eat again.

Shrugging, the young lady finished her meal. "Will you please pick up some more bread on the way home?"

"Of course," he replied, finishing up his breakfast a few minutes later. Getting up from his seat, he then went to pick up her plate before she had the chance to lift it herself. "I'll wash the dishes."

Tilting her head back, she smiled at Mark again. "Thank you. I'll be in the study yelling at those alchemy books again." Rosette made a face. "I really wish I didn't have to take that test!"

Mark chuckled at her wording. "Good luck with that," he remarked as he set to washing the dishes.

Around eleven, Roy walked right into the house and headed to his sister's room. He looked serious and annoyed. Pushing the door open, he nodded at her. "How long do we have to get you cleaned up?"

"A few hours." Rosette replied, toying with the knot of her thick robe. "I haven't told him anything, Roy."

Roy let out a sigh. "Good," he replied.

Unbeknownst to them, they had an audience watching them from a tree near an open window. A smirk lined the face of the "spy," happy that he would finally get some dirt on Rosette.

"Shower or inspection first?" The redhead asked, reluctant to do this again, even though it had to be done.

Roy frowned, thinking to himself before answering, "Inspection."

Taking a deep breath, the redhead nodded and undid the knot of her robe to shrug out of it. She said nothing as she allowed Roy to lay her on the bed. Her face was expressionless as she averted her head to see out the window so that she wouldn't look down at her ruined legs. Her body from the waist down was covered in thick pink scars, her feet looked as though the toes were fused together. The skin beneath the scars had a slightly blue tinge from lack of blood circulation.

When Rosette slipped out of her clothing, Envy was shocked at the very notion at first until he saw the actual scars on her legs. He immediately figured out that what they were doing now was more of a routine than that of a sexual nature. The homunculus nearly paled, honestly horrified by the sight of her legs.

"See anything, Roy?" His sister asked quietly, even though Roy had her right foot in his hand.

The older sibling scowled upon seeing distinct marks on the skin that weren't there previously. "You have sores," he announced.

Rosette sighed. "Not again... Damnit... it's those new boots." She shook her head. "You know I can't feel anything down there." Her lips tightened. "Let me guess, flat or heel?"

"The heel," Roy answered, still holding onto the foot as he looked for more possible sores.

"I'm not surprised... and they are going to get worse since being barefoot is not an option..." Rosette told him.

"Of course not…" Roy agreed with a sigh.

"Check my other foot, then I'll roll over so you can check my butt again..."

Envy looked at the sores on the woman's feet when Roy held them up towards the window. He then looked at Rosette's face before realizing that she had no intention to let the sores heal. _'She's keeping her feet in shoes to make sure no one else sees any part of her legs...' _he thought sullenly.

Rosette sighed. "How are you holding up? Need to puke yet?" She asked calmly.

"I think I'll manage," the older man replied, putting the other foot down. "You can roll over now."

The redhead did so in silence with a bit of squirming, pillowing her head on her arms. "You really dislike Mark, don't you?"

Just hearing the name made the colonel snort. "I don't trust him," he remarked bluntly before beginning to look at her backside and legs.

"He's been a good friend." She replied calmly. "You know he wouldn't do anything to injure me or let me get hurt."

Roy fell silent for a moment before replying, "You might think I'm just being a paranoid brother, but he honestly just rubs me the wrong way. He may seem like a great guy, but I think there's some ulterior motive to his good behavior..."

"We are _just_ friends Roy. It's... nice... to dream of romance, but it will never go further than a pleasant dream, Roy. You know that better than anyone." Her grey eyes filled with tears as she pressed her lips together. "By Ishballan law, I am ruined for marriage. Besides... I know he won't stay... He'll take one look at my scars and..." Rosette swallowed hard as she shoulders shook. "No, the dream is enough."

The older man heard how her voice grew quiet as she spoke and looked up at her head. He could tell that she was close to crying even if he couldn't see her face. "Rosette..." he murmured. As much as he wanted to comfort his sister with promises of not ending up alone, he knew that it wouldn't do much good.

She took a harsh breath. "I won't ask for anything more then friendship from him, Roy. The time in this house will be nothing but a pleasant dream to remember when he's moved on to a woman who can give him what he deserves. It would be cruel to ask him to stay once he learns the truth, to watch the horror replace the caring in his eyes every time he sees me... It would kill me." She shook her head slowly. "You only hurt this body Roy, but putting Mark- or anyone I cared about- in that position would kill my soul..."

Roy sighed, shaking his head. "Then, I guess, you're just going to have to continue hiding this from him." The last thing he needed was for his sister to become like a soulless doll.

"I know Roy, and I love him enough as a person that I'll hide it for as long as I can. He'll never know our secret, Roy. Scar won't tell anyone." Rosette let her head drop. "All I can do is just enjoy this dream until I wake up."

The older man returned his attention to her legs and placed her robe on her hand after rising to stand. "You can put your clothes back on now, I found nothing else alarming."

"No sores on my butt this time?" She asked, trying to look over her shoulder and flinched.

"No," Roy assured her. He decided not to address her other words, knowing that she wouldn't change her opinion any time soon.

"I hate to ask Roy, but can you please help me shower again before Mark comes back? I've been giving myself sink baths, but I must smell ripe..."

The colonel nodded his head. "I can do that if you need it."

Rosette let him carry her to the bathroom, hugging him gently. "It was a long time ago, brother. Don't cry."

Envy watched the scene with wide eyes, never knowing that the girl carried so much on her plate. He wondered what she had done to become ruined for marriage but knew he couldn't very well ask her. After the two left his sight, he growled in annoyance. _'Why the hell does she have to deal with so many problems like this?' _he mentally thought.

When they came back twenty minutes later, Roy carefully helped her dress and bandage her feet before he slipped them into her worn slippers. She let him brush her wet hair to compose himself before gently pushing him to the door. "You should go. Mark wouldn't understand if he found you in my room considering I just took a shower and you are damp too." The redhead managed a smile. "He should be back soon and I like to have a snack waiting for him when he does."

The older man shook his head, relenting. "Fine." He honestly didn't understand how Mark would assume anything negative considering that they were siblings, but he digressed. "I'm going to hate leaving you alone with him, but if I must, I must..." he replied, knowing that she wanted to act out her dream to the fullest.

Rosette hugged his waist before rolling out of the room. "I wish you'd settle down brother. You aren't getting any younger!" She grinned as she headed towards the kitchen to slice some fruit for a salad.

"Yeah, yeah..." Roy grumbled. He followed her into the kitchen and couldn't help but smile, her happiness ebbing off on him.

Humming she sliced up the fruit, when she head the door shut, Rosette's face lit up. "Welcome back, Mark, You have perfect timing! I just finished making a fruit salad, would you like some?"

Just as Roy turned on the knob to the back door, Mark entered the kitchen. He raised his eyebrow at the colonel's presence, pretending to act as if he had no clue the man was there the entire time. "...Colonel Mustang?"

"He was just leaving, Mark." Rosette said calmly, smiling at Mark as she tossed the salad a little more before she repeated her question. "Would you like some?"

Roy almost flinched before realizing that it shouldn't have been him that was embarrassed that he was caught in the house.

Mark noticed how the man froze and inwardly snickered. Walking over to Rosette, he replied, "I've love some," before leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. The kiss was much like one a husband would give a wife upon returning home from work.

Roy, who was by then completely facing the pair, narrowed his eyes at Mark's actions.

"Would you retrieve the bowls and forks please?" She asked keeping the mask fully in place as she smiled at him. "What were you up to today?"

"I had to go run some military errands," Mark replied as he gave her the items she asked for.

She laughed. "I would ask Roy to join us, but he can't be away too much longer before he's missed." Rosette smiled at Roy. "I'm sure Lieutenant Hawkeye is taking good care of you though, Roy."

Roy forced out a cough at his sister's indirect teasing, suppressing his irritation. "I suppose you could say that..."

Scooping out Mark's portion first, she filled his bowl generously before handing it to Mark. "Here you go, Mark." It should have been noted that she gave Mark the lion's portion of the salad as she dished out her own smaller portion.

Mark took the bowl and gave his thanks as he usually did when she gave him food.

Shaking his head, Roy announced, "Well, I'm leaving now. Bye."

"Bye, Roy. Thanks for the study tips. It will save me from throwing that book at the wall," she said simply, spearing a piece of orange with her fork. "Love you."

"Love you, too," the colonel replied before saying his farewells and walking out of the door.

Mark took a bite out of his salad after Roy left, inwardly amused that he knew that Rosette was lying to him about the reason her brother showed up. "This is really good," he complimented with a smile after swallowing.

After Roy left, Rosette smiled sweetly. "I'm glad you like it. I know you don't like heavy foods for lunch and I wasn't sure if you'd already eaten or not."

"I didn't eat, actually," Mark replied. "So I'm very grateful for this."

"Would it be easier if I packed a lunch for you in the mornings for you to take with you? That way you wouldn't have to wait until you got back to eat," Rosette murmured shyly. "It's no trouble, Mark."

Try as Envy might, he could not see anything but the mask that Rose was wearing to hide the heavy burdens that she kept hidden from everyone. For the first time in his life the homunculus felt pity and could not find it in himself to brush her off as just another human. Now that he knew what she was hiding inside he actually felt the need to do more than just play act. It wasn't a matter of keeping to his cover; he _wanted _to give her this dream of a happy life to make her feel as though she really was a wife if only for just a short period of time. Realizing that he had spaced out, he blinked and summoned a winning smile to offset the concerned look on her face. "Thank you, Rosette. That was very thoughtful of you. I would like that very much. I can see why your brother always take you for granted." Still smiling, he rose from his seat and took his empty bowl and fork to the sink so that she wouldn't have to. Finding himself in a strangely thoughtful mood, he took the glass from the cabinet and poured out some juice that he had gotten from the refrigerator. Presenting the glass to her with a flourish and a grin as he set in front of her, he took her empty bowl and fork. "Drink up, Rosette. You must be very thirsty."

The quiet redhead smiled sweetly in thanks at Mark before taking a sip of fruit juice. "This is very good, you must have gotten it fresh the last time you were out."

He smiled over his shoulder as he watched her enjoy her drink. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Rosette. Would you like some more before you go back to your studies? You've been studying very hard lately. Are you going you going to take a break after dinner?"

Still smiling, the redhead shook her head. "Sorry, Mark. I have a lot of studying to do. I haven't made that much that much headway today. Even with Roy's help, the book I am currently studying with is very difficult. Sometimes I wonder if the Führer gave me the hard books on purpose..."

This was _not_ the answer Envy wanted to hear. For just a moment, the mask slipped and it was a very good thing that he was facing away from Rosette. The homunculus briefly allowed himself the luxury of strangling his 'older brother' in thought before taking a deep breath to control himself. "Would you please take the night off? I miss spending time with you. One night will not make a difference in your studies, Rosette.'' He added a note of pleading in his voice in order to get his way.

After finishing her drink, Rosette rewarded Mark with an odd look as she brought him her empty glass. "Mark... are you lonely here?" There was real concern in the redhead's voice.

Envy turned his head and give her a slight smile as he took the glass from her. ''A little bit, yes. You might not believe me, but I but I don't have many friends around Central. I simply miss being around you and being able to talk to you during the day. You've been working very hard lately and I don't want you to burn yourself out. Nobody says that you have to take- and pass- the alchemy exam on the first try.'' He turned up the brilliance of his smile. ''To be honest, this house is really quite comfortable. I don't mind being here with you. You won't do either of us any favors if you burn yourself out trying to pass this exam on the first try, if anything else, you will guarantee your failure because you will be too tired to concentrate.''

The redhead looked thoughtful as she considered this. ''I didn't realize I've been neglecting you. That was not my intention. While I agree with you that this house is wonderful, the fact that I am a virtual prisoner in here does not do either of us any favors. I also didn't realize that I was working so hard that I caused you to worry about me. If you truly think that having a night off would be in my best interests, I will consider it."

"Please do. I will be looking forward to spending some quality time with you tonight." Mark turned off the tap and wiped his hands on a dishtowel before turning to face her. "I'll even bring home dinner tonight. My treat, I promise."

Rosette's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Wow, you must being a _very_ good mood today, Mark. Is there a special occasion that I've forgotten about?"

The question made the homunculus smile. "No, not yet anyway. We can make one up if you'd like."

Now both eyebrows went up and Rosette looked at him as though trying to figure out what he was up to. "Mark... are you sure you're okay? You didn't stop anywhere before coming back?" Clearly she was asking herself if he was on something and was making a more serious move in their 'relationship' while under the influence of it.

Mark only continued to smile. "I'm completely fine," he replied. "Do I need a reason to want to spend more time with you?" he added in a teasing tone.

She blushed and shook her head. "No... of course not." giving him another smile, she quickly changed the subject. "What were you thinking for dinner?"

The soldier grinned, giving her a wink. "It's going to be a surprise." He then blinked, acting as if he suddenly remembered something. "And it'd be great if you could dress up a bit more than usual... it might make the night a bit more interesting, wouldn't you think?"

Rosette looked dumbstruck and blurted the first thing that came to mind. "I only have one dress though..."

Mark almost laughed at her reaction. He was greatly amused that for the first time, he seemed to truly catch her off guard. "That's fine with me."

Shaking her head, the redhead rolled out of the room, looking as though the world had flipped upside down around her and she was still trying to figure out exactly what happened. Clearly, Envy had won this round and left Rosette confused and at a loss as to what her next move should be.

Later on that night, Mark returned to the house with a bag of food for them. He set out the packaged food and the silverware before making the table look more presentable for a romantic environment. While he did this, his thoughts floated back to the sight of Rosette's legs. _'That damn Colonel was the one who did that to her legs!' _Envy inwardly growled. _'He's the only one in the military with abilities to use fire like that! What the hell is Pride thinking? Rosette shouldn't be going into the military! She should be kept as far away from the military as possible!' _Envy continued. He shook his head, deep in thought. As much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to do anything he could to protect Rosette and keep her out of harm's way.

"Mark?" Rosette's quiet voice broke the silence. "Sorry to keep you waiting." The bracelet he had picked out for her gleamed on her wrist as she rolled into the room. She was wearing the same dress that had made Envy nearly drool at the ball.

Mark blinked out of his stupor before entering into another one. Just like before, upon seeing Rosette in the jaw-dropping dress, he had to mentally smack himself to get himself to speak again. "You look just as beautiful as the last time I saw you in that dress... Perhaps even more so..." he complimented with a smile. He waited until she moved to the table before taking a seat across from her. "I hope you like what I bought for us."

Blushing, Rosette took her seat. "The roses are beautiful." She said, eyeing the vase of fresh full-blooming roses to one side of the table.

"I'm glad you like them," the soldier replied. "I wasn't sure if you would or not."

"Roses are my favorite and the easiest for me to work with depending on what I'm doing." She smiled and stroked one of the flowers gently.

"Then my guess was right," Mark replied with a relieved smirk.

Smiling, Rosette turned her attention on Mark. "What made you want to join the military, Mark?"

"Hmm..." the older man mused out loud before answering. "I think I joined the military for various reasons..."

She nodded. "Roy put me in the military so that I could get a job at the Central library when it is rebuilt, I think he also wanted to keep an eye on me."

Mark tried his best not to narrow his eyes at the mention of the colonel. He was still upset over what had happened to her legs. "Well, considering how much you like writing and books, it's not surprising... Central Library has everything you'd want."

"Yeah, but only military has access to it though. Roy doesn't like me in uniform but he says it safer than leaving me to my own devices." Her lips curved with a smile. "I think he still sweats when he thinks about my last visit."

"What happened then?" Mark couldn't help but ask.

"I nearly gave everyone in Central a nervous breakdown trying to 'help' everybody. Fortunately the Führer happened to be out of town, otherwise it would have been a real stinky mess." She shrugged. "I think that was why everyone was so quick to give me something- anything- for me to do lest I decide to come up with something on my own."

The older man chuckled at her description. "I wish I could have seen that..."

"Yeah, Roy said cleaning up bombs would have been easier!" Rosette snickered and took a bite. "This is wonderful!"

Mark took a bite of his own share of food and nodded in agreement. "It is," he replied. "I used to stop by the restaurant a lot."

Rosette looked to be enjoying herself as the meal went on. "Have you ever considered leaving the military? Or is it a lifetime commitment for you?"

The older man sighed. "I honestly don't know what I'd do outside of the military," he explained. "Believe it or not, but I'm not skilled in many things outside of my duties."

"It's never too late to find something new." The redhead pointed out. "Life is about learning something new everyday. The day you stop learning is the day you stop living in the truest sense of the word."

Mark found himself smiling at her words. "I suppose you have a point there," he replied. He fell silent for a few moments, running the words over in his mind before deciding to ask, "What's with your use of alchemy?"

She paused with a forkful halfway to her mouth. "As far as what exactly?"

"I mean... why did you start learning it?" he pressed.

The light in her eyes dimmed as her thoughts turned inward. "You could say it was peer pressure. Roy is really popular since he's in the military, so it kept getting shoved at me until I finally gave in and went with the crowd."

_'That's odd... I would have assumed that she would have learned alchemy before she even met Mustang. Is she just that smart or is she lying about it?' _Envy pondered to himself as he listened to her explanation. "I see..." he murmured.

Rosette took another bite of her meal, her eyes had a thoughtful gaze in them now. "What about you, Mark? Have you ever had an interest in alchemy? They say that everyone in the military that has equal value, but seems to me that state alchemists appear to enjoy a lot more privileges than the average soldier. What do you think?"

Mark flashed a small, almost bitter smile. "If I said I never thought about what it would be like to have alchemy, I would be lying," he admitted.

"They say anyone can use it if you study hard enough. At least, that was what I was always told when the alchemy books were shoved at me," the redhead pointed out.

The older man let out a small laugh. "I'm not sure if I have the patience to study a lot of books."

"If you really love it, you'll learn quickly. Everyone has their own path to find in life, and no one can be forced to walk down another's path. It has to be a choice made with your free will and the full knowledge of everything that it means..." Thoughtfully, she played with her food. "I think that's what most people don't understand. It's not about what fate decides, it's what we decide to do _with_ the fate given to us..."

The soldier's eyes nearly widened. Within the man's mind, Envy was in shock by her words. _'That's something I haven't heard before...' _he admitted to himself. Then, before he could stop himself, he asked, "Hypothetically speaking, what if you feel trapped within the fate that's been chosen for you by someone else? If you go off of a certain course, you could get killed by the person who set that fate for you..."

Rosette shook her head slowly. "Again, you have to choose to walk down that path, Mark. There may come a time when you have to do something that you don't want to do, but there are ways to make that path your own if you really want it. If no, then don't be shy about saying no and striking off on your own. I think that sometimes people don't want go on their own path because there is no guarantee that there won't be pain or that you'll have a happy ending."

Envy inwardly frowned. There was a time where he hated all humans and would have laughed as they all fell over dead. But now, he wasn't so sure. He had actually found a human that he didn't think was worth killing.

Rosette took a drink, lost inside herself far enough that she didn't seem to notice her companion's continued silence as she spoke in a quiet voice. "People look at me and think that I'm weak, they told Roy that it was a mistake to keep me, some- his own family even- call me his little pet. If there is anything I have learned from my life, it's that there are many different kinds of strength that make up this world. The army doesn't see that, they think that their way is the only way and whoever is different deserves to be crushed."

_'It's a simple matter of who's useful and who's not... Once you stop being useful to our kind, we kill you...' _Envy thought to himself, now questioning the madness to the homunculi's methods. "The military isn't perfect...Though, I think a lot of the people who signed up for service knows that when they signed the papers."

"There are also those that know, but they don't care. They don't care about anything that doesn't suit their needs and plans," Rosette pointed out.

"There is that, too..." Mark agreed with a nod before taking a bite out of his meal.

"I find it sad that those people will never really know happiness, inside they are just hollow, living from moment to moment but completely groundless."

"Yeah..." Mark sighed. "I suppose it is sad.."

The redhead took the next few bites of the meal lost in her own thoughts a world away from the romantic mood Mark had created. "Do you have regrets, Mark?"

Envy was also lost in a world of his own as he rolled her words over in his head. _'Should I take a chance for once?' _he asked himself. It took him a few minutes to even realize that she had asked him a question. "Some, I suppose..."

"Have you learned from them? It is natural to have regrets, but the true test is learning from the mistakes you've made in the past so that you won't make them again in the future."

_'It's a bit difficult to learn lessons from them if you didn't even think you had any until a minute ago!' _the homunculus mentally snapped. He fell silent for a few moments more before replying, "Some of them, yes. Some of them, no."

"It's never too late to start." Rosette said with an encouraging smile. "As I remember it, the first step is always the hardest no matter what the task."

It took all of Envy's willpower not to snort at her reply. _'I'm pretty sure you won't think the same way if I told you the truth...' _"What about you?" the young man raised his eyebrow. "Do you have any regrets?"

"I always have regrets, but I can't change my past; only my future. Roy's already said that I'll be welcome to stay in Central for as long as he is, which means I won't have to face the family's smug remarks again if I pass the exam..." She shrugged. "Roy's still not happy about my taking it. He hates my alchemy."

Envy knew she had a point. It wasn't like him to feel almost... guilty for something he had done. It was beginning to drive him crazy. "Why is your alchemy different?" he then decided to ask.

"Because I don't believe in forcing a change. I try to make it at natural as possible, I might ask the rose to do something, but it's up to the living force inside the plant to decide how to go about it. Also, I only use my blood, it allows the process to be more personal, and I have more force behind the energy used. Personal power combined with the natural abilities."

Envy nodded his head, taking in the information. Though he was contemplating the unthinkable, he knew that eventually the truth would come out.

After dinner, the redhead smiled and helped Mark clear the table. "That was a wonderful meal, Mark. Thank you very much."

The soldier gave her a half-smile, still troubled by his thoughts. "You're welcome."

Smiling, she took a rose at random from the vase and put it behind her ear. "You look uncomfortable. Would you like to change out of your suit, Mark?"

The young man shook his head. "It's not that," he murmured, his voice giving away how troubled he looked.

Rosette gave him an odd look. "Should we go sit down in the living room then?"

The soldier gave no reply and led her into the living room. However, he didn't sit down and instead took a step back from her, almost expecting her to attempt to kill him after he would tell her the truth. "Rosette..." he began. "As cliché as this sounds, I'm not who you think I am..."

Now Rosette looked lost. "Mark?"

Upon seeing the look in her eyes, Envy almost backed out of telling the truth. In order to make himself gain the strength he needed, he moved toward her and picked her up out of her chair and placed her on the couch. He gave her a small embrace before backing away again. "...My name is not Mark," he admitted in a serious tone.

Shock and horror filled her face. "You lied... to me? To the Führer?"

Envy almost snorted but figured out it would put him at more of a disadvantage if he ousted Pride as well. "Yes, you could say that," he replied.

She shook her head. "I don't... understand. Why?" Rosette looked very hurt and fear flickered in her grey eyes as her fingers twitched nervously, but wasn't yet going for the rose in her hair.

"There's a lot of things about me that you don't know," the homunculus continued. "There was a plan made out for you by the people I work under, but I've decided to abandon their ambitions."

Her eyes went wide with fear. "Why me?"

The homunculus's eyes narrowed slightly. "You don't understand how powerful you are?" he almost snapped. "Besides that, you have ties to one of the people the group I work under calls a 'sacrifice'."

The girl's face was drawn white and her heart pounded. "I still don't understand." Clearly all of this was a complete shock to her systems as her hands were shaking.

Envy hated the look of fear in her eyes and let out a deep breath. Without warning, he moved forward and captured her lips in a kiss. He grabbed a hold of her arms, knowing that she would most likely harm herself with the thrashing that would ensue. While he continued to hold her, he concentrated his energy on transforming himself, going back into his regular homunculus form.

When he pulled his lips away, she was shaking. "_What_ are you? _Who_ are you?" she whispered as tears filled her eyes. "_Why_ did you do this to me? _What_ have I done to you that makes you want to _hurt_ me like this!"

Still unsure of if she'd use her alchemy against him, he kept her arms in his grasp. Though his original form looked intimidating, the guilt was now evident on his face. "To those who I work under, you're just a chess piece in their game. All humans are," he murmured quietly. "I think you've met another like me before."

"The spear lady who..." She gulped hard.

Envy nodded. "Her name is Lust," he said, confirming her suspicions. "My true name is Envy."

"_The one who thinks he's entitled to everything, always hating people because they have what should be his._" Rosette whispered in Ishballan, sounding as though quoting a lesson from long ago.

"I suppose that's what my personality usually is like..." Envy murmured with a bitter smirk in place, telling her that he could understand what she was saying. "And I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you something else..."

Looking visibly startled, her eyes went even wider but she said nothing else.

"I was the first homunculus ever created," he admitted.

Rosette slumped back into the couch, even more horrified than before, her mind a humming blank.

Believing that she wouldn't do much to him, he finally released her arms and took a step back. "If you want to hurt me, it won't do much but possibly make you feel better," he murmured. "I can't die by normal means."

"Please... go away." She managed to whisper. "Just... go away..."

Since Envy had shown his true form to her, he was no longer afraid to hide a lot of his true emotions. His eyes narrowed at her as his temper flared. Didn't she understand how much danger she would be in if he left her? Deciding not to mention it just yet, he moved forward to grab onto her shoulders and shake her slightly. "Damn it!" he growled. "I _love_ you, Rosette! I am _not_ going to leave you!"

"How in the name of Ishballa Almighty am I supposed to believe anything you say now! I just learned that everything you told me until now was a lie... That the man I was starting to-" She had to take a deep breath and dash away more tears from her eyes to steady herself before continuing, "care for never existed at all!"

Envy sucked in a deep breath, forcing himself to steady his temper. "I understand that..." he murmured in a quieter voice. "Though, if I didn't care for you, I would have continued to lie to you up until you'd find yourself in an even more dire situation." He couldn't bring himself to mention "death" to her.

"Death doesn't frighten me, Envy. I know where I will go when I die." Rosette replied. Unconsciously, she rubbed her unfeeling legs. "I was promised." The last part was a murmur.

The homunculus shook his head. "It's not just your death that you should be concerned about," he replied. "It's what your possible death would cause for _other_ people..."

Thinking for a moment, the redhead shuddered. "The city would no longer exist for one..."

Reaching down to grab onto one of her hands, Envy asked, "Why do you stay with your brother?"

"He's all I have left. There's nowhere left for me to go." She said simply. "My real home no longer exists, and even if I looked, I would not be accepted among my true people." Closing her eyes, she sighed. "Only the stricter sects survived the Führer's purge."

Envy frowned slightly. That was unfortunate. He never really cared about the carnage that happened in Ishbal until he cared about a person who was directly affected by it.

"It's odd, even after all this time, I still feel like a foreigner here. Even the food is strange to me at times," Rosette admitted.

The homunculus paused, now going through future plans of what he'd do with her assuming that he'd survive Dante's wrath. It was the first time he had ever betrayed their plans so he was certain that the punishment would be more than just a slap on the wrist.

Rosette looked at him. "What?" She didn't like the odd way he was looking at her, and she instinctively raised her left hand to the rose in her hair.

Once he noticed her hand go towards her rose, Envy blinked out of his trance immediately. "Well, seeing as that I'm not Mark, I'm wondering what you're going to tell the Führer. It's obvious that he doesn't want you living by yourself in this house," he pointed out.

"Well I can't lie to him!" She snapped back. "Between Roy and the Führer, I'm going to have my hands full!" Rosette frowned. "At least he doesn't have a tower, Ishballa be praised... but I'll be locked away regardless..."

Envy almost snorted. _'You'd be surprised...' _he sarcastically thought to himself.

The homunculus fell silent again until a light bulb went off in his head. His eyes widened at the words that flashed across his mind. "...Rosette," he began, looking at her in earnest. "How do you feel about marriage?"

The redhead's mouth fell open. "Say _what_?" She gasped. "You can't be serious after everything that's happened!"

Envy didn't hesitate, moving forward and kissing her again. Once he pulled away, he murmured, "I've never been more serious in my life. Despite how I lied to you about my identity, the feelings I've developed for you are real."

She still looked surprised and she swallowed hard. "I-" The word came out a nervous squeak.

The homunculus stepped back slightly to give her space to breathe. "Rosette..." he trailed off, waiting for her full answer.

"I- This is confusing..." She said, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "Is it even _allowed_? Ishballa never spoke about this..."

"What do you mean?" Envy pressed.

"I know Ishballa's laws about marriage to another outside the faith, but this..."

Envy sighed, knowing that not much else would be accomplished for the night. Reaching forward, he picked her up gently and placed her back into her chair. "I'll let you think it over," he told her as he went behind her to wheel her to her bedroom.

"You're _not_ sleeping with me." There was panic in her voice again.

"Of course I won't," Envy snorted once they entered the room. "Though, I'm not leaving you alone either..."

"You enter my bathroom while I'm in there and my roses will turn you into a shish kabob." She warned as she put her hands on the wheels to roll away.

The homunculus almost cringed at the mental image. Even though he wouldn't die, the momentary discomfort he'd feel would be very inconvenient to go through.

Seeing that he was going to stay put, she went into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. A second later Envy heard the lock being thrown on the door. She might have allowed him to stay, but clearly Rosette did not trust him.

Envy leaned against the door of the room and frowned as a thought came to mind. _'If I did something else stupid, she might end up draining herself dry by trying to attack me...' _

A good ten minutes later, the redhead reemerged wearing a robe over her brown pajamas, there was a strangely determined calm on her sweet face. "Since you told me your secret, I think you should know mine too."

The homunculus blinked. "And what would that be?"

Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she kicked off her slippers and pulled the pant legs of her pajamas up as high as she could, showing Envy the damage to her legs close up.

Despite how he already knew about her legs, the homunculus's eyes widened at seeing the legs from so close up. Now, every individual scar left behind was visible to him. He was also surprised that she would tell him this secret despite seeing his true form. "Rosette..." he breathed out.

"The scars go a lot higher than this, but it would be unseemly to show them to you. Go ahead and touch them. You can't hurt me."

Envy moved forward hesitantly and reached forward to touch one of the scars that went across her left knee cap.

She didn't even twitch as Envy poked at it. "It was a long time ago. I have no feeling from the waist down."

"Oh..." the homunculus murmured, finally drawing his hand away.

"I was the only person in my village that survived the attack."

Envy frowned at this. "That's unfortunate," he commented.

"My mother and father both died in the attack." Rosette looked sad. "I still don't know why I lived. By all rights, I should have died."

"How did you manage to survive?" Envy couldn't help but ask.

"I dragged myself out of the house and collapsed at Roy's feet." She covered up her legs again, resting her ruined feet on the foot plates.

The homunculus almost raised his eyebrow. Why didn't Mustang kill her at that moment if he was the one who harmed her family? Was it guilt?

"The only thing I could remember was the horror on his face." Rosette toyed with her bottoms. "Though even that memory is rather unclear. I really don't remember much aside from waking up in the hospital and hearing foreigners fighting over my head."

"I'm guessing that he wasn't interested in killing Ishbalans like a lot of other soldiers were..." Envy murmured.

Rosette rolled her chair over to the bed and neatly pulled the covers down. "I wouldn't know, we don't talk about it." Her tone was emotionless, and she got into bed with a bang of her knees. "Nice set of bruises... they'll fade just in time." She muttered.

The homunculus was intrigued at how she reacted to getting new bruises. Of course, since she couldn't feel anything from the waist down, it made sense that she wouldn't really care as much.  
Pulling her legs up in the bed with a bit of wiggling, the effort clearly exhausted her, considering how hard she was panting for air by the time that she managed to get her useless legs on the bed. "Bed's too big..." She managed to get out when she rolled over to face him. Taking off her glasses, she put them and the rose in her hair on the bedside table. Covering up, she sighed. "Tired now..."

Envy exited the room momentarily before coming in with a chair so he could sit down beside the door and across from her bed. "Then sleep..." he replied. He wasn't going to leave her anytime soon.

It turned out that Envy could have saved his breath, as she had already snuggled in and passed out. She was exhausted mentally as well as physically from the long day, and clearly Envy's secret hadn't helped anything. Within ten minutes of sleep, the lines of strain and worry Envy had put on her face had faded and the redhead looked more like a curled up child in her parents' bed.

The homunculus leaned back in his chair and sighed. He knew that once his so-called "mother" found out about this, he would hear an earful from her. All he could do was enjoy what was left of his freedom before this mistake of his caused him to be imprisoned at Dante's side for constant surveillance. As he continued to watch Rosette sleep, his mind drifted off to what she would look like in a wedding dress. Despite how much he wanted to deny his feelings for her, he knew that it couldn't be done. Either way he looked at it, she would soon figure out that her best option for her own safety would be to marry him, assuming that he didn't get killed beforehand.  
Rosette frowned and shifted in her sleep. Curling up tighter, she muttered something quietly. "Almighty Ishballa, god of all things, is this what you wish of me?" It sounded as though she was having a conversation in her sleep.

Envy blinked, hearing the words. _'I wonder what she's dreaming about...?' _he thought to himself.

As she slept, she became silent but kept moving around, tossing and turning as though her dreams were just troublesome as when she had gone to bed. It seemed as though even in her sleep she never got any peace from her torments, and Envy's big reveal hadn't helped matters at all.

While Envy watched her sleep, he noticed that a particular object on her wrist was gone. Her bracelet. His eyes widened ever so slightly, surprised that such a minuscule thing would bother him so much. He stood up straight and frowned, trying to figure out where she had left it last so that he could get it for her.  
Figuring that she could have left it in the bathroom, he opened the door quietly so as not to wake her. Giving her one last look before he left, he mentally vowed to ensure that he would do everything in his power to make her realize that his feelings for her were true.


	12. Heartbreak's Aftermath

Author's note: Hello again, sorry this chapter took so long to get up! Once again thanks to Turtlequeen2 for all of her help with this chapter. Please enjoy the read.

* * *

It had been a week since Envy had told Rosette the truth about himself and he was surely paying hell for it now. Ever since the confession, he had never allowed the girl to leave his sight for fear of danger. And also since that time, she had not spoken a word to him nor had she ever looked at him with the same glint of happiness she held when she stared at "Mark."

However, she seemed to be hard at work studying the alchemy books. Perhaps she felt that it was now her only weapon against Envy. The redhead never left any room without at least one rose within easy reach. Sometimes she'd cut her hands every time she heard a loud noise, although there was no scaring on her hands yet. Envy's confession had done nothing for her already strained nerves. He hadn't been allowed to touch her since that night, not even to avoid bruising. Currently, she was flipping the pages of a heavy alchemy tome, ignoring Envy's gaze as he watched her from the other side of the room.

Even though he watched her intently, sometimes the homunculus would avert his gaze to the floor, glaring at it as if it were the source of all of his problems. Being able to glare at anything was good at preventing his temper from snapping. He at least had enough sense to not lash out at her seeing as that would only make problems worse for him.

Muttering under her breath, the redhead slammed the book shut. "Idiot authors." Releasing her breaks, she rolled out from behind the desk and made her way over to the bookshelf to scan the books as though looking for something. "One of you better speak more plainly than your friend over there." Rosette seemed to like talking to the books.

The homunculus sucked in a deep breath, feeling his fists clench and unclench as he watched her roll past him, acting as if he weren't in the room at all. Finally tired of being ignored, he pushed off of the wall he was resting against and set his sights on her. "Rosette," he called out in a stern tone.

Rosette paused in the middle of pulling a thicker book out. "What?" She snapped as she lost her grip on the book and banged her fingers against the shelf.

"You could at least acknowledge my presence," Envy growled back, knowing that it was already pointless to help her when she hurt herself. "I've been with you all this time and I have yet to harm you physically."

"You've been hovering over me like a rooster over his hens," the redhead shot back, speaking around the injured fingers in her mouth.

Deciding to take the risk, the homunculus grabbed the back of her wheelchair and pushed her into the living room. With quick speed, he then picked her body up from the chair and went to sit on the couch before pulling her onto his lap. "I've been nice enough to you for a week now. Now I think you should take a break from your studies and give me some attention," he remarked.

Her gray eyes hardened. "Considering everything, you don't ask for much, do you?" She wanted to reach for the rose in her hair, remembering what had happened the last time she had sat on this couch.

"I don't think I'm asking for much when I say that I'd like you to acknowledge my presence," Envy replied.

She glared at him. "And I'm in your lap because...?"

The homunculus flashed a smug smirk. "It got your attention, didn't it?"

Instead of answering, she shifted as though to get off his lap, not liking being this close.

Instead of letting go, Envy's grip only tightened around Rosette's body.

Now angry, her hand whipped up to the rose in her hair. Rosette had taken the uneasy step of drawing a transmutation circle in her hand every morning, and now she was grateful for that as she stabbed her palm with the thorn, turning the stem into a knife-like point and jamming it as hard as she could into Envy's neck. She quickly got off the homunculus's lap and stayed still as the vines wrapped around her as though to pick her up, reacting to the horror of the mistress.

Envy's eyes widened and momentarily rolled to the back of his head as blood sprayed out from his neck. For almost a minute, it seemed that he was actually dead. However, soon after, a bright light shone from his body before skin began to heal itself. The homunculus's body then twitched before reaching the back of his hand up to wipe the fallen blood off of self-healed area of skin on his neck. With his pupils back into focus, he grinned at Rosette. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to kill me, hun," he teased.

Now the redhead looked ill as the vines tightened around her protectively. She squeezed her hand to dig the thorn in deeper. "Is that a challenge?"

The homunculus didn't reply to her, ignoring the vines as he pulled her back onto his lap and forcefully claimed her lips in a harsh kiss.

This appeared to shock her. As the vines loosened and returned to the rose in her hand, she tried to move her head but his grip was too strong. All she could do was try to keep her mouth closed.

Envy had to admit that he had missed kissing the girl and noted that it felt different than when he was in the form of "Mark." Though, despite the small jolt of happiness he felt at this, it was overshadowed by irritation at the fact that she had actually taken one of his many lives.

Rosette did yelp at one point because he was holding her so tight that it hurt, but she didn't fight him even when Envy deepened the kiss until she saw spots before her eyes. It didn't escape her notice that he was stroking her head with one hand and her spine with the other, reminding her of a starving man finally able to eat his fill.

Upon finally realizing that he could hold his breath longer than hers, Envy pulled his mouth away from hers, enjoying the sight of her bruised and swollen lips.

She closed her eyes, trying to suck in enough air to fill her lungs and ignoring her bleeding hand.

The homunculus realized how much he had overworked her and decided to switch gears, gently pushing her down and laying beside the redhead so that her head could rest against his shoulder. "I won't go beyond that Rosette," he murmured.

"I wasn't really concerned about it. Even if something did happen, can't feel down there anyway so it wouldn't be fun." She shrugged. "Something I thought about when the last problem came up."

Envy suppressed a sigh as he shifted her body so that he could hold her as she laid down. "If the problem was still alive, I would have dealt with it," he murmured as his right hand reached down to remove the rose out of her hand. Looking down at her face and making sure she could see, he took the rose and kissed it as a type of symbolism for peace. After pulling his lips away, he explained, "I'm serious about marrying you, Rosette and I'm not planning on letting _anyone_ stop me from making you my bride." He then added, "As for lashing out at me, I forgive you because I scared you..."

Rosette said nothing for a minute, then sighed. "Why me? You could have anyone in the world you wanted. All the riches of the world if you chose, so why me of all people?"

The homunculus thought to himself for a moment before answering. "The way you look at the world is so much different from me... As a homunculus, I used to hate all humans because I thought that they were all the same... I thought they were all foolish, vain creatures who only wanted more than what they needed." As he spoke, he idly wondered if Rosette had ever been loved by another aside from her parents. She sounded so doubtful of herself.

"Most people act that way to avoid getting hurt, to protect themselves from possible pain." She shifted. "The way I see it, the worst has already been done, so I don't need to pretend."

Envy's eyes narrowed slightly, knowing that she was lying to him. "...You don't need to lie to yourself, Rosette," he murmured. "You may be stronger than an average human but you're just as fragile as they are."

Narrowing her gray eyes, she sighed again. "Envy, don't get me started, _please_." She nearly sounded pleading.

Deciding that he didn't want to risk getting killed again, the homunculus returned the sigh and decided to drop the subject. "Either way, all I know is that I really do care about you."

"Do the others know?" She asked.

"That I told you the truth?" Envy questioned.

"And that you fell in love with your prey," the redhead added

The homunculus shook his head. "Not yet... but I'm fairly certain that they'll find out sooner or later. I'm already expecting an earful from Lust..." He mentally cringed at that argument.

Rosette shivered. "Am I going to become dinner?"

Envy snorted. "Like hell I'd let that happen."

She raised her eyebrow and shifted, trying to get out from under him without pushing him off. "Aren't they your equals? You might not have a choice, especially if your creator takes steps."

"I'll readily give them my life if that meant preserving your life," the homunculus admitted in a serious tone. He shook his head. "And besides that, they won't kill you before they plan to use you as a sacrifice... If something happened to you, the plans would be ruined."

"Sacrifice?" Her tone sharpened. "So I'm going to die no matter how I look at it?"

"If their plan comes to surface...yes..." Envy replied, unable to lie to her. "But it won't just be you that dies... This entire country..." He didn't finish the sentence.

Her eyes, if possible, grew even harder before she reached out with her bloody hand and shoved the homunculus away from her with all her strength. Snatching the almost forgotten rose from Envy, she used the blood to redraw the circle on her hand and the rose came alive again to lift her from the couch.

Envy was too shocked to do anything to stop her. How did she get the nerve to shove _him_? He then paused, his eyes widening as he got to his feet. She was planning to tell Pride about this!

Tipping her hand, she let a thin trickle of blood fall on the vines in an offering once she was back in her chair before the rose resumed it's original form. Turning, she rolled out of the room without a backward glance.

"Dammit!" Envy cursed, knowing that he would now have to deal with an irate Pride before the others.

In less than fifteen minutes, Rosette had cleaned herself up, bandaged her hand and was dressed in a fresh uniform. The redhead had a very closed off look on her face as she put one hand up to open the door for the first time since the punishment started.

Envy used his speed to move towards her, pulling back on her arm before he stepped out. "Rosette," he murmured in earnest before tugging her towards him and giving her a much gentler kiss than before. He knew that there was a chance that this could be their last kiss and wanted to make it count.

Rosette's eyes widened, but she didn't struggle or stab him. When he let go, she closed her eyes before Envy saw her tears. "Goodbye." The word was spoken softly, as though she was trying not to cry, then she opened the door and fled.

The homunculus frowned as he watched her leave. He could tell that the young woman had a high sense of honor. He knew that chasing after her would be useless. Once Pride and Dante found out, he was as good as dead anyway.

An hour and a half later, Rosette rolled into Central headquarters, and within ten minutes, she was knocking on the Führer's door, ignoring Ms. Douglas completely.

Luckily, being in his office at the moment, the Führer stood up from his chair and went to get the door himself. "What is with all of the commotion?" he began before noticing the look on Rosette's face. "Rosette?"

"My apologies for the intrusion sir, but... we need to talk. Privately." Rosette was clearly taking herself in hand, even though her hand and mouth had to be hurting fiercely.

"Alright, then," King Bradley responded, moving out of the way so that she could go into the room.

Relieved for the moment, she rolled into the office and waited for him to close the door. "Sir, what do you really know about Mark Stone?" Rosette asked, gripping her hands in her lap and taking a deep breath for courage.

Pride fell silent for a moment, glancing over the woman's panicked frame until his eye caught both her bruised lips and injured hand. His one eye narrowed. _'What did you do, Envy?'_ he mentally growled before speaking. "Did he hurt you?"

"Mark Stone isn't a human. He's a homunculus named Envy," the redhead stated flatly. She then proceeded to give a completely dispassionate report, detailing everything she had learned. "I would have come right away, but I wasn't sure if I could win in a fight with him," Rosette finished.

The more the homunculus listened, the angrier he got. _'That idiot!'_ he inwardly cursed. Now that Rosette knew all of their plans, getting her to submit would be all the more difficult! Still putting up an act at least for himself, his expression hardened. "I will send people out to retrieve him," he stated firmly. "As for you, you may take up residence in Colonel Mustang's place for the time being."

"Thank you, sir." Her voice was quiet, but her hands were shaking in her lap.

Letting out a sigh, Pride forced himself to calm. He would have his fun with Envy later. "...Do you need to get medical help?" he asked in a concerned tone.

"I was a bit reckless, but it didn't go though my hand. I'll have some juice tonight and be okay." She didn't look okay though. Something was eating away at her; something personal.

The Führer frowned, not believing that she was telling the entire truth. Gently reaching his hand forward, he took the bandages off of her hand and noticed the depth of the puncture wound. "You call this 'okay'?" he sharply snapped just like a father would react to seeing their daughter being harmed.

She flexed her hand gingerly. "Better that than rape."

"This 'Envy' never tried to rape you, I hope?" Pride pressed, knowing that if she claimed that he did, he would personally see to it that Envy slowly died a horrific death.

"No, but today was a close call, hence why my lips are an interesting color... He said something about wanting to marry me. And he wouldn't let me out of his sight until today. Scared me enough that I used my rose to kill him, but he just popped back to life and grabbed me again."

The older man pulled his hands away, felt his fists tighten for a moment before unclenching. "Are you going to tell the colonel about this?" he then asked.

"I wanted to tell you first. Roy will go postal and not hear anything after he sees me."

The homunculus nodded his head though he found that it would be rather inconvenient if Mustang were to also find out the truth.

"It scares me..." She said quietly. "That Envy would believe I could just let this happen." Absently, she rubbed her unfeeling leg with her injured hand.

Pride forced himself to narrow his eye again. "I won't let anything like that happen to this country under my watch if I can help it," he stated if only to ease her suspicions.

She was still rubbing her leg uneasily. "I am... confused, Führer." Rosette confessed in a quiet voice, wincing slightly as her mouth hurt. Her eyes looked deeply wounded for a minute before she took herself in hand again.

"What do you mean?" the homunculus pressed.

The redhead looked at her hands, unwilling to meet the Fuhrer's gaze lest he was angry at her. "Even though the homunculus lied to me, I don't think he was lying about not letting anyone get in between him and I. You don't make that kind of face if you aren't serious. My fear is that if I stay with Roy, he'll die when Envy comes to retrieve me."

Upon hearing her quiet tone and seeing her look down, Pride realized that the young woman was terrified of Envy and what he could do to whoever got in his way. "Then do you have a better idea of where you could stay?"

She gripped her hands tightly together; ignoring the pain as blood began to flow again, staining the bandage. "As I see it, I either have to fend for myself and hope he'll keep his distance- which I highly doubt he'll do- or I'll have to go back into the lion's den and pray that I can keep him amused long enough that he won't linger when he kills me."

"'When'?" Pride echoed, his eye narrowing even more. '_That fool even told her about our plans?'_ he inwardly growled.

"He called me a 'sacrifice'. I think the meaning behind that is clear enough. Either that or they are hoping to scare me enough that I act as a lure to draw others in." Her voice was a whisper.

The homunculus felt more of an urge to wring Envy's neck until he died a few times over now. What was wrong with that idiot? One human knowing was already too many! "So you're willing to risk dying 'sooner' in order to save your brother's life?"

"Death doesn't frighten me, I've already died once. It's not so bad." She flexed her injured hand thoughtfully. "We all die a thousand times, only to be born a thousand and one. That's what I believe. Every choice we make now affects what will happen the next time around. I will not watch other people die knowing that I led them to their deaths merely to save this body at this time. Even if I die, I'm going to make sure I spoke their wheel before I go."

Pride fell silent, realizing that her words had substance to them. As much as he disliked leaving her with Envy, he knew that she would do anything to protect Mustang. "Very well," the Führer murmured. "If you wish to risk your life, I will not stop you. However... if this 'homunculus' does anything suspicious, I will cut him down myself." His words were stern.

"Don't worry, I don't need to fear rape. I'm only a human after all." She laughed, but the sound had a bitter- and false- edge to it. "And with that other one in the group, I'm not even pretty in comparison."

The Führer didn't like the darkness in the girl's eyes as she spoke. The plan they had conjured up to distract her only managed to hurt her even more. He bent down and gave her an embrace that he would have otherwise have given to his son at another time. "I was wrong for allowing you to stay with that man..." he murmured.

"It was not your fault; you didn't know. If anyone was at fault, it was me for wanting..." She shrugged. "Can you keep a secret without pulling a 'Roy'?"

The older man pulled away. "...What is it?"

Relieved, the redhead closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You'll want to sit down for this, trust me."

Pride nodded his head, leading his way to the chair behind his desk and sitting down.

Rosette backed up slightly without opening her eyes, murmuring a prayer in Ishballan that was too soft to make out exactly what was said. Sucking in another sharp breath, she pulled up her pant legs. "This is the real reason I'm not afraid of rape, Sir." Her voice was cold.

The homunculus's visible eye widened, shocked to see all of the scars on the girl's legs.

"Waist down, I can't feel anything anymore. Whatever they plan to do to me is nothing compared to what _he_ did to me so long ago." Her steady gray eyes were an emotionless void.

"'He'?" Pride echoed, feeling curious.

"I am an Ishballian but my parents were soldiers in your army, I was born and raised in Ishballa." She wanted to see if he could figure this out on his own.

The homunculus quickly figure out which one of men could have possibly harmed her so badly. The scars were more like burn marks, leading him to one conclusion. "...You mean, Mustang did this?" he growled.

"He and I are the other's torturer." The redhead agreed. "He spends every day looking me in the eyes knowing that he was the one who caused me this pain."

"...Then how did you two become siblings?" Pride pressed.

"He adopted me. I had nowhere else to go, though some of the others wanted to kill me instead, I think." She shrugged again. "Most of that time is a blur to me."

Pride got up from his chair and walked over to the woman's chair before hugging her again even tighter than before. Once he pulled back this time, he questioned, "Did you love 'Mark'?"

"I did, even knowing that it would be nothing more than a dream. That was enough for me. Marriage... well, I came to terms with the fact that the only reason a man would marry me solely because of my connections a long time ago. Love wasn't something I..." She stopped and bit her swollen lip unseen, hiding the motion with a shrug. "Nevermind."

The homunculus frowned, wanting hurt Envy even more.

Uneasy now, the redhead pushed down her pant legs to hide her legs again. "Don't worry, it'll pass."

Despite how silent King Bradley had grown, he knew that she was only saying such words to comfort her own suffering. "...If you need anything, do not hesitate to come to me," Pride finally offered, showing her a small, generous smile. "I'll gladly support you like any father would."

She gave him a small- but real- smile in return. "Thank you, I might need help in about an hour. You'll be hearing a lot of things go boom between now and then I'm afraid... _father_." Rosette ran her uninjured hand over her short hair. "I thought Roy went postal when he found out I used the turkey knife to chop off my hair but this... Roy's going to demand to be the one who hunts Envy down."

Pride resisted the urge to choke before he led her to the front door. "I'll be expecting to hear from you soon," he told Rosette. Once the girl was out of the area, he turned towards his secretary. "Tell everyone in Colonel Mustang's part of the building to run for cover," he ordered.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Rosette knocked on Roy's office door once she got there. "Roy, it's me."

Roy, who was busy doing his usual bout of paper work, stiffened up immediately when he heard Rosette's voice. Dropping his pencil, he jumped out of his seat and went to get the door. "...Rosette, what are you doing here?" he demanded immediately.

For an answer, she opened the door, rolled inside before closing- and locking it behind her. "Would you mind if I moved in with you again?" Rosette tried not to move her mouth too much, since the bruises were really smarting by this point. "It will only be for a few days." She flexed her hand slightly and amended that. "Or at least until I heal up."

The colonel's eyes widened before they narrowed. Flames were practically flashing in his eyes! "...Did Mark do this to you?" he snarled.

"The mouth? Yeah, hand was mine though. I stabbed it a bit too deep... surprised it didn't go through." She swallowed. "Roy, no booms; we are in your office."

"What the hell happened?" Roy demanded. Unfortunately for her, the colonel had started to wear his gloves everywhere ever since she had started living with Mark. It was his only way of comforting himself, knowing at any moment he could roast anyone alive.

"We had a fight." She said in a small nervous voice, the color draining from her face when she noticed the gloves.

"A fight!" Mustang exclaimed, his gloves already sparking.

"I'm okay Roy, I swear. I wasn't raped. I defended myself just like you taught me to!" She stammered, growing scared of the sparks.

"'Wasn't raped?" Roy echoed with a growl, jumping to his own conclusions. "Does that mean he tried?"

She whimpered. "It was so fast I got scared." Rosette shook her head. "I panicked when he wouldn't let me go."

The colonel's eye twitched, his fingers snapping hard enough to scorch all of the wallpaper on the right side of his office. "I'm going to kill that bastard!" he declared.

Pride stepped off the elevator with a pounding headache. Like Rosette had predicted, he had had to go rescuing his 'daughter' after the forth or fifth 'boom' had gone off. Seeing Envy pacing the floor, Pride could hold back his rising fury no longer and sucker punched his older 'brother' right in the mouth. "I should skin you alive for this stunt."

Envy fell to the ground before sitting up and glaring defiantly at Pride. He knew it was to be expected.

"Do you have any idea at all how much danger we are in now that you've ruined everything?" He demanded.

The older homunculus rose to his feet. "Of course I know!" he snapped back.

It was then that Lust came into view, already finding out about the news from Pride earlier in the day. "Well, well..." the woman murmured. "I'm surprised you actually came here _willingly_..."

"I barely got Rosette calmed down, and then I had to rescue her from her brother." Pride said in fury.

Envy nearly mentally cringed, knowing that Roy would want his head now. He didn't even know if he'd make it out of here alive.

Lust felt herself smirk. "So... _you_, out of all of us, went and fell in love with a _human_," she taunted. "I never knew it was possible for you to even _tolerate_ one of those creatures."

Envy's eyes narrowed at Lust, his temper flaring. The woman always knew what to say in order to get him irritated.

"Mustang thinks Envy tried to rape the girl, and nothing she says will convince him otherwise," Pride vented.

The young woman laughed at this. "Perhaps our mother should have named you 'irony' instead, hmm?" she further teased.

"Lust..." Envy growled in warning, not afraid to turn the basement into an underground battlezone.

In response to this, the female homunculus shot her nails out in quick fashion, pinning Envy against a nearby wall by stabbing them through his shoulder like daggers. "Is there something you wish to say to me, Envy?" she purred, twisting the nails in cruelly.

Envy let out a sudden yelp of pain, unable to hold it in due to not suspecting her attack. "Dammit, Lust!" he cursed.

Lust's eyes narrowed. "Stop your barking," she hissed. "Pride isn't the only one who is pissed at you for ruining our plans."

Envy scoffed. "Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" he threw back at the woman.

To this, the woman twisted the nails again. "With the position you're in now...I could easily let Gluttony have his way with you..." she warned.

"No, I want to give him to Mustang first," Pride growled. "It'll save Central from becoming one great big fire pit."

To Pride's threat, Envy paled slightly. He could already feel the flames tearing through his skin over and over.

King Bradley continued to glare at his 'older' brother. "You are lucky Rosette came to me first instead of going to her brother. I should be able to salvage something from your blunder. Providing she stops cutting up her hands..." Pride ran his hand though his hair. "As it is, you have appalling timing. Greed's on the loose again."

Envy's eyes widened, feeling his blood run cold. Looking over at the nails still in his shoulder, he reached his hand around them and ripped them out with a light cringe before pressing himself off of the wall. "What?" he gasped.

"The seal is broken, he's free again." Pride snapped flatly.

The older homunculus growled in irritation. This was the last thing they needed right now!

"Do you really think that Greed would just ignore her considering the fact that we have so clearly marked her as a piece belonging to us Envy? And thanks to your little stunt, you can't protect her."

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the shadows. "Pride. Lust," the voice beckoned. "Please don't lecture Envy _too_ much..." It was then that Dante emerged with a "motherly" smile in place, sounding as if she were chiding arguing siblings. "It is a mother's job to discipline her children, after all."

Pride stepped back a pace. "My apologies, it has been a very trying day..."

Envy inwardly cringed, knowing that Dante's cheerful attitude wasn't going to last for long.

Upon seeing her oldest "son's" face, the old woman feigned hurt. "How could you betray your own mother's trust, Envy? Didn't I raise you to be better than that?"

The homunculus almost snorted in defiance. "I thought you of all people knew this," he remarked. "People do stupid things when they're in love."

"Love doesn't include frightening one's intended out of her wits to the point where she nearly stabs herself though the hand in terror whenever she hears a strange noise," Pride snapped, automatically defending his 'daughter'.

Envy nearly flinched at Pride's harsh words, knowing that the man had a point.

"Perhaps so, Envy," Dante remarked, choosing not to remark on Pride's words. "But nearly destroying the plans we've worked so hard for? Is she truly worth all of this trouble?"

"If I was given the chance, I would go back and do it again," the homunculus admitted. "I have no more intentions to lie to her even if that costs us any chance for a relationship."

Simmering rage momentarily flashed across the woman's eyes before she stepped forward to gently grasp Envy's wrist. It was then that alchemic light coursed out from her hand onto Envy's wrist and arm, beginning to burn into his flesh.

Envy's eyes widened, letting out a shout of pain, unable to pull away from her grip.

"Since I am your _loving_ mother..." Dante began, her tone darkening. "I will let you off with this slap on the wrist." However, her "slap" proved to be slow, agonizing pain that completely ripped off the homunculi's arm and continued to spread up through the rest of his body, putting him through slow, electrocuting torture.

As soon as the woman released him, Envy quickly began to regenerate himself, but found he couldn't do it as fast as he would have hoped. He could practically feel every cell in his body turning into disintegrating ash as he yelled out in agony. By the time her powers had let up, he had died a total of five times and was on his knees, panting with veins popping out of his skin to keep his powers at bay.

Pride looked pale, but nonetheless was slightly satisfied. "Your orders?"

The woman looked over at Pride, not reacting in the least to Envy's pain. "How close are you to this girl?" she asked.

"I've allowed her to see me as a father-figure, seeing as she came to me first instead of running straight to Roy. She called me 'father' today." He smiled slightly in real affection.

Dante nodded. "Then we may be able to clean up this mess..."

Lust looked mildly annoyed, seeing that Envy was still recovering. "...You're not going to kill him for betraying us?" she remarked.

The woman shook her head. "As much as it saddens me to know that my firstborn would betray me after all that I've done for him..." she trailed off, acting the role of a true, distraught mother. "There is still some use I have of him."

Pride nodded to Dante. "With your permission, I'd like to take Rosette in hand myself. It will take a while to undo this damage... I miscalculated how fragile her spirit is and I don't dare leave this to her brother." He glared at Envy. "There are other reasons as well..."

Dante gave it some thought before nodding her head again. "I will grant your permission, assuming this plan of yours works."

"I won't know right away, my 'daughter' is very high-strung and jumpy right now. It will take a while to make her feel safe again enough to fly."

The woman withheld a sigh. "We cannot afford to fail again," she pointed out in a stern tone. She flashed Envy a warning glare. "And if Pride's plan does go to ruin, you'll get much more than a simple slap on the wrist."

"At the moment, I'm going to keep her close to me." He glared at Envy. "No. Night. Visits. I don't want her deciding that she can cut more than her hands."

Feeling all of the heated glowers on him, the homunculus rose to his feet, still out of breath due to the violent episode. "...I got it," he remarked in a defeated tone.

Satisfied, Pride turned back to Dante. "Could I trouble you to make some special salve, Master?"

Dante raised her eyebrow. "Is it for that girl?"

Pride nodded. "Yes. I don't want to risk her hands becoming infected whenever she slices them open."

The woman nodded. "Very well then."

He bowed slightly. "Thank you very much."

Deciding to keep his thoughts to himself, Envy inwardly growled. There was no way he was going to listen to Pride's orders. He was going to make sure that Rosette wouldn't have to die by their schemes any time soon. '_I'm not letting Greed near her!'_ he vowed to himself.


	13. The slow healing hands of time

Author's note: Hello again, sorry this chapter took so long to get up! Once again thanks to Turtlequeen2 for all of her help with this chapter. Unfortunately however- Turtlequeen2 and I have decided to go our separate ways due to personal issues on her end. I haven't given up on this fanfic yet. My good friend Inu-midroko has agreed to work with me on finishing this story from here on out. Please enjoy the read and look forward to the next chapter in a few months time!

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After a few more days had passed, Pride sat in his office, looking down at various forms of paperwork before casting a glance at his new office occupant. Now having her own station to work at within the spacious room, the woman was studying an alchemy book for her upcoming examination. He wanted her to feel at ease since, apparently, she was being badgered about the breakup between her and 'Mark'. There was, of course, an ulterior motive to this kindness. Pride wanted to be absolutely sure that Envy wouldn't have the opportunity for a 'chance' encounter with Rosette again until the redhead felt steady enough to handle it without cutting herself.

As if sensing she was being watched, Rosette looked up and smiled wanly at the Führer, the dark shadows looking like bruises under her steady but spiritless gray eyes. "Is everything all right?" She asked quietly, putting down the book and flexing her bandaged hands gingerly. The redhead always spoke softly now since 'Mark' was gone.

Pride nodded his head, now realizing that he had to answer her since he was caught staring. "I'm fine," he remarked. "Are your studies going well?"

"Somewhat." She replied. "It's hard to make sense of it all when one book contradicts another."

The homunculus nodded his head. "Alchemy has many types of theories just like any other type of science..."

Rosette tapped her fingers restlessly on the book. "I can't help but feel like I'm climbing the wrong tree reading all of these..."

"What do you mean?" the Führer asked.

She turned her face away, looking uneasy now. "It's hard to put into words, it's just a gut feeling that says 'this is not your path'."

"What do you think is your path then?" Pride questioned, sounding curious.

"That, I don't know." Rosette studied her hands. "All I know is that my kind of alchemy is different from other people's. It can't be measured on the same scale. Every Alchemist has a different 'voice' that makes their alchemy stand alone. They can't be compared because no two people can do the exact same thing exactly the same way. True, everyone was given the same rule book, but every person has their own unique view."

King Bradley was surprised to say the least. It would be harder to conform her since she was already independent with her alchemy.

The redhead shook her head. "These people are all on their own path, but their 'voices' do not harmonize with mine. I found my own way to do alchemy and Ishballa hasn't stuck me down yet, so I must believe that He approves of my method... I hope."

Pride's eyes widened in realization. He couldn't believe it took him this long to figure it out! The reason her entire outlook on life was so different from others was because she practiced the religion from Ishbal!

Shaking her head again, she went back to the alchemy tome and opened it with a bandaged hand with a sigh. "I've kept you long enough from you work, Sir. My apologies."

Pride felt annoyance build up since she had called him "sir" instead of the term of endearment he encouraged her to call him. Clearing such thoughts from his mind, he then noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "...How much sleep have you been getting?" he pondered.

A flinch told Pride that his aim struck gold. "I haven't been sleeping well," she admitted quietly.

The homunculus's eyes narrowed. "And why not? What's been keeping you up?"

There was a second flinch. "You'll think it's foolish."

Pride's eyes narrowed even more. "Try me."

"I... I feel like I'm being watched, and I know it's not Roy. During the day I don't feel it so I know I'm safe then, but at night..." She bowed her head. "More than once I've woken out of a sound sleep knowing someone is there but not seeing anyone when I turn on the light to see who it is. Can't sleep after that."

The Führer felt his fist tighten. He knew it wasn't just her being paranoid. "Do you want me to put more guards in place to make you feel more at ease?" he asked, trying not to look too upset in front of her. He knew he would have to talk to a certain annoyance later today.

Wrapping her arms around herself as though she were cold, she shook her head. "No, I check all the locks every time, and I haven't found anything. I haven't told Roy because I don't have any proof, and he hasn't calmed down yet."

Pride almost growled, hating that she was beginning to doubt her own sanity. "Either way, I don't enjoy seeing you come in here when you're not feeling well," he remarked. "You need to rest."

"I'm scared that if I try to take a nap then _He_ will start watching me then too. _He_ always watches me sleep. Not even my room was safe once he told me who he really was..."

The Führer felt silent for a moment until he came up with a suggestion. "What if I was in the room with you while you slept? If someone is watching you, I'm sure I would find out quickly and dispatch of the annoyance." After all, he did have the "ultimate eye."

She looked both lost and hopeful at the same time. "You'd do that? But... What about Roy?"

"What about him?" Pride replied. "If it's the only method required to ensure your health, why would he oppose it?" Besides that, the colonel _did_ work under him. "If you don't want to go through with it to risk angering your brother then all you're going to do is end up getting sick."

She looked away and swallowed hard as she considered this. For a minute, the strain the redhead was under was plain to see. "All right. Thank you."

The homunculus nodded. "I expect you to be in your best shape when you work here."

"I know... Father... I just didn't want to put anyone on a wild goose chase." Rosette replied quietly. "After all, the locks were intact and I never saw anyone."

"Even so, I dislike seeing you so worked up over something so concerning," Pride replied, also mentally glad that she had called him father again.

She nodded. "I'll tell Roy tonight."

Later that night, an exhausted Rosette yawned as she made herself comfortable on Roy's old couch in her worn and most comfortable brown pajamas. She was tired enough that she ignored the stern disapproval she felt coming from the Führer and the annoyance she felt from Roy at having the Führer playing a lowly guard dog. In seconds, she was fast asleep and barely felt Roy tucking the covers in tight around her with his ungloved hands.

Roy stood up and glanced back at the Führer who was now narrowing his eye at him. Despite how irritated he was at this situation, he couldn't help but ask, "Is there something wrong, Sir?"

"Why is Rosette wearing such worn clothing?" Pride pressed.

The Flame Alchemist huffed. "She says that those are the most comfortable of her pajamas."

"And you've never tried to see if she could find better quality clothing that would be just as comfortable?" the homunculus asked.

"She won't let me." Roy growled.

Well, this was an annoying development. "What about the couch? Doesn't she have an actual bed?"

He shook his head. "She's never been here for a stay longer than a week, and won't hear of taking my bed."

Pride let out a breath to calm his irritation. He couldn't very well get mad at Roy because it seemed like the man felt the same about the situation as he did.

Roy looked pissed, but kept his voice down. "I am going to kill Mark if he comes near her. How dare he shatter her fragile heart for his amusement! She was just starting to feel like she could settle here and have a life again and now..." He almost growled and it showed in his next words. "That son of a biscuit eater made my little sister cry..." Roy wasn't going to swear in front of her if he could help it. Asleep or not, he wasn't going to teach her that kind of language by example.

King Bradley's hand tightened at the mention of Rosette crying. This made him wish that Dante had punished Envy even more than she had.

The Flame Alchemist ran a hand though his hair. "I'm going to get a drink and catch up on some family matters. The key is on the table. I really hope she's not right though..." He shook his head. "I might ask around and see if I can find some nice young men who are scared to death of me who I wouldn't mind seeing her with. Get her mind off that cad."

Pride nodded. "That would be a nice gesture..." he remarked. Of course that would be if _he_ approved of the match as well.

"If they are scared of me, they won't dare hurt her. She can't take another blow like that. I'd rather be the one choosing her husband then watch her go though this again."

The homunculus almost growled upon hearing those words. Damn Envy's idiocy!

Nodding shortly- but not saluting- Roy left his quarters after wishing the Führer "good hunting." Rosette looked at peace on the couch under the dim light of the lamp.

Pride pulled out a chair next to the couch and looked around the room, trying to pick up on any moving shadows from outside of the windows. As soon as he caught a twitch of a shadow from outside, he stood up and decided to investigate. Before leaving the house, Pride checked to make sure all of the windows were locked and locked up the ones that weren't. Once he was outside, he made to look as if he were leaving the lawn before turning to move to the backyard. Keeping silent, it wasn't long before he heard a rustling against a nearby window. Narrowing his good eye, he moved fast and drew his sword without blinking, moving it so that it pressed against the man's neck. "Hello," he greeted in an irritated growl. "I see that you've taught yourself how to pick locks now, _Envy_."

Envy's eyes widened, not expecting Pride to be in the house. "Dammit..." he growled, stopping what he was doing in order to stand up and face the younger homunculus.

"You are making the young lady _very_ unhappy in there, Envy. You aren't as clever as you might think," he snarled at his sibling. "If your plan was to drive her mad, it nearly worked."

The homunculus maneuvered himself so that he was away from the sword before speaking again. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.

"Think about it; feeling you are being watched every night, but finding all the windows locked and never seeing anyone there?"

Realizing what Pride meant, Envy frowned. "Well, it's not like I can see her at any other time," was his defense.

"Are you going to keep on twisting that knife, Envy?"

"Well, now considering that you're here watching over here, I guess I can't do much now," the older homunculus growled.

"I couldn't let my 'daughter' be torn apart like that, could I?" He snapped back

Envy raised his eyebrow at the remark. "It doesn't seem like I'm the only one who likes Rosette more than they should," he commented.

Pride's only answer was to kick his 'older' brother. Hard. "Are you going to leave?"

The homunculus cringed lightly as he got back up from the ground. He looked at Pride, clearly not believing the urgency in his tone. "So how do I know that this wasn't your idea to look over her just so you could just watch over her yourself without Mustang's interference?"

"Because people were starting to ask if she was being beaten the way she jumped at every little sound while slashing her hands open. Not just one hand, but both!" Pride snapped curtly. "She seems completely at ease when it comes to harming herself..."

Envy's eyes narrowed. "She's still doing that?" he growled before he could stop himself.

"Yes. She'll use anything handy if startled. She gave Sloth quite a fright once." He didn't seem amused however. "If she keeps this up, her hands will be scarred too. So far I haven't seen her cut her arms at all..."

The older homunculus let out a breath to calm himself after hearing such bad news. It wasn't like he intended for Rosette to harm herself!

Pride looked towards the door. "I'm going back in case she wakes up, but she looked to be in a deep sleep."

Noticing the door Pride was glancing at, Envy used his fast speed to beat out the unsuspecting homunculus into the house and shut the door quietly behind him. He knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it later, but was suddenly determined to see Rosette now. Walking into the front room, his eyes widened when he notice how much her appearance had changed since she had left him.

Biting back a curse, Pride took a single stride towards the door, then stopped as a thought occurred to him. Rosette had almost driven herself insane with the doubts she had. She needed to face her fears before she did herself a truly great injury. He had a feeling Envy wouldn't hurt her, and besides, it would boost his credibility up a notch as well.

On the couch, fast asleep, a content-looking Rosette was curled on her side, snuggling deep against the cushions. The thick bandages around her small hands smelled strongly of the salve Dante had made at Pride's request. In the dim light of the room, it actually looked like Envy's intended had gotten into a fight and came out the loser. She'd also lost weight and wasn't wearing the bracelet anymore.

Envy frowned when he noticed the missing bracelet but put it to the back of his mind when he noticed the girl's state of health. Walking closer towards Rosette, he knelt down and carefully ran his hand over a bandage, wanting to see the true extent of the damage.

When the bandages were unwrapped, Envy could see several cuts on her palms in various stages of healing. Some of them were shallow, but there were two or three recent ones that looked pretty deep and painful. Frowning in her sleep, Rosette tried to pull her hand away in reflex.

The homunculus's eyes narrowed at the sight of the cuts. He hated seeing her in such a fragile state, knowing that a lot of it was his own fault. He then carefully covered up her hands again before pulling his arm back. Wanting to speak with Rosette, Envy made a grab of her hands so that she couldn't cut herself when she woke up. He then shifted so that he could kiss her gently against her lips.

Drowsy from sleep, she kissed back until the fog cleared from her eyes. She stiffened in his embrace and all color fled her face, but showed him no resistance. "So I wasn't crazy..." Rosette muttered softly as he freed one hand and reached for her glasses and slid them on her face for her.

Envy pulled back, but kept her hands in his grasp, glad to see her awake. "...Can you assure me that you won't go crazy with your roses?" he sternly asked, not planning on letting go of her until she said so.

She nodded slowly, flexing her bandaged hands. "What did you do to the Führer?"

The homunculus pulled his hands away. "He's a bit...tied up at the moment..." he lied. "Don't worry, I didn't kill him."

She flinched, but looked relieved nonetheless. "Was there a reason you woke me up?" Rosette felt this was a safe question to ask.

"I wanted to see how your health was..." Envy explained. "And I've honestly missed seeing you." The homunculus sighed. "I don't mean to cause you anymore harm than I've already done so I don't plan on staying here for too much longer."

She nodded, rubbing her unfeeling leg as she sat up on the couch. "If you start running now, you might make it halfway around the world before my brother and adoptive father get you."

It took all of the young man's willpower not to snort at the name she gave Pride. Envy got to his feet. "I'm still keeping to my word, Rosette," he reminded her. "I've already died about a dozen times for you."

She turned whiter and swallowed. "What?" The redhead sounded shocked.

Envy was kind of glad that she was shocked at his declaration. Shaking his head, he pulled out a small box and handed it to her. Inside it was a silver necklace, fashioned to match the bracelet he had gotten her before. "You don't have to wear it, but it would be nice if you did..." he murmured before quickly kissing her cheek and pulling away again.

In a daze, the redhead took the necklace out of the box and held it to her throat. The emeralds blazed with fire in their simple setting, shining against the worn brown pajamas she wore. "Wow..." Rosette managed out, her heart pounding and her tongue thick in her mouth.

"I thought about getting a ring, but I thought you might have cut through your hands with that surprise..." Envy admitted quietly.

She flexed her fingers, but kept the necklace in place. "You don't know my size..." Rosette shook her head and swallowed slightly.

The homunculus reached for the necklace and fastened it around her neck before carefully moving so that she sat on his lap. He had to admit that he was enjoying her dumbfounded expressions. "The next time I visit... I'm going to bring you home," he murmured to her, glaring down at the couch they sat on.

"Say what?" Rosette choked, turning her head to look at Envy, feeling his warmth at her back.

"You heard me," Envy firmly replied.

She leaned back, her gray eyes were slightly glazed over. "You hate this?"

"Yes," the homunculus bluntly replied. "You need an actual bed."

"There's only one bed here, and that's my brother's." Rosette replied, feeling his arms tighten around her.

Envy frowned. Didn't Mustang ever offer her his bed?

The redhead took a deep breath while cradled against him. "Are you waiting until I sleep again?"

"Well, that would be my preferred method..." he responded.

She fought against her heavy eyelids "You are being nice... thought you'd be mad..."

"'Mad'?" Envy questioned. Of course he was upset that she was away from him but he didn't find it to be smart to take out his anger on her with the only time he could spend alone with her.

"That I uprooted the plans of your fellows." She murmured sleepily.

"Well, even though you did that, it didn't change my opinion about you," the homunculus replied. His expression grew serious. "Nothing will change my mind about making you my bride." With those words, he gave her another chaste kiss before pulling back and murmuring, "Sleep."

Unable to resist the soothing hand that was hypnotically stroking her forehead, Rosette fell fast asleep again, still cradled in Envy's arms.

Once Rosette was asleep, Envy carefully stood up with her still in his arms so that he could lay her back down onto the couch. Making sure that her eyes were still closed, he then placed the covers over her and tucked her in, gently taking off her glasses and placing them on the side table. Looking over her sleeping body, he sighed again. He didn't like the fact that he didn't know the next time he could speak to her.

Pride watched from the doorway. "How heavy is that necklace?" he asked. "I'll need to keep that for her when she wakes."

The older homunculus walked away from Rosette before deciding to speak, not wanting to risk waking her again. "It's light," he answered. "I made sure not to get anything that could weigh her down."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't get her a collar." As he spoke, Pride waked over and tucked her in a little more.

Envy's eyes narrowed at Pride's remark, but decided not to say anything back, lest he wanted to start another argument.

"You better go before Lust sticks her nose in. Gluttony won't keep his mutts off Rosette."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the other homunculus remarked before heading towards the door and leaving the property. The last thing he needed was to kill Gluttony for touching Rosette.

As soon as Pride was sure Envy had left, he steeled himself before leaning over and shaking Rosette urgently. "Rosette, Rosette! Wake up!"

The redhead pried her eyes open with effort. "Father? You are safe? Good..."

Pride nodded his head. "Are you alright?" he then asked, showing genuine concern. Even though he knew that Envy wouldn't dare harm her with him so close by, he just needed to make sure. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"He came to see if I was okay, and to say..." She swallowed and put her hand on the necklace. "That he hasn't given up his plans on marrying me."

To be honest, Pride had already figured out that much on his own. Of course, he couldn't tell Rosette any of that. Instead of saying that, he frowned. "This is alarming..."

She nodded. "He didn't like my sleeping on the couch either; I thought it was going to blow up..." Rosette murmured sleepily.

It was then that the Führer took an interest in the necklace around her neck. "Could I see that?" he asked her, truthfully wanting it off of her in case it constricted her while she slept.

Drowsily, she nodded and rolled over after a minute of squirming so that the Führer could reach the clasp. "Sleep in?"

"Well considering that your rest keeps getting interrupted, I would make it an order that you sleep in so that you can get the proper amount of sleep," Pride murmured after taking the necklace off of her.

A muffled 'thank you' could be heard before she passed out in sleep again.

King Bradley watched Roy pace like a lion trapped in a cage. It was annoying to say the least, but couldn't entirely blame him for doing so. Once it had passed mid-afternoon, he was also concerned that Rosette hadn't woken up. "I think it would be best if we let her sleep herself out since she finally feels safe..." he suggested.

"She's slept almost all day, I can't get her to eat or drink anything," Roy replied, watching her breathe for a minute. "She's never like that; she always wakes at sunrise."

"Well she has had a long week," Pride pointed out. "It's no wonder that it has taken a toll on her body."

"Are her hands healing up?" Roy glared at the bandages on her hands. "Any scarring?"

The Führer shook his head. "Luckily, there isn't enough for permanent scarring."

This didn't seem to make Roy feel any better, since his dark glare only intensified as he eyed his sleeping sister. "You and I are going to have a _very_ serious talk about cutting when you wake up, little sister..." He rumbled threateningly.

Pride frowned, also pondering what the cutting could lead to if it wasn't properly controlled.

Rosette frowned and suddenly wiggled out of the blankets, stretching herself out and opening her eyes, wincing when her back cracked. "Wow. Hi," she said after a minute after grabbing her glasses.

The young woman was met with a heated glare from her brother. "We need to talk," he stated.

"Bathroom first. I was out for a while; you're lucky I didn't mess up your couch!"

"Fine," the Flame Alchemist replied, waiting for her to get situated.

With a bit of effort, the redhead got into her chair and flew towards the bathroom, shutting the door tightly.

Pride smirked. "Think she knows she's in trouble?"

Roy growled slightly. "She's not getting lucky today," he murmured. "I'll make sure of that."

About ten minutes later, Rosette came out of the bathroom, her short red hair neatly combed and she had changed out of her pajamas. "I can't believe it's past noon. Either of you could have woke me up." She said as she hugged each of them hello.

Unable to help himself, the Führer hugged her back. "I told you to sleep yourself out," he reminded her.

The younger man kept his expression hardened after he pulled away from the hug she had given him. "If not for him, I would have woken you up," he admitted.

"Well, you'll be happy to know I wasn't crazy, Roy. _He_ was visiting me." She rarely- if ever- used Envy's name.

Roy was caught off guard by this. "What?" he snarled, his eyes blazing.

Rosette flinched. "I'm okay, Roy."

"I swear if he touched you..." the alchemist growled, leaving his sentence hanging.

"Does holding me in his lap and kissing me awake count?" She asked nervously.

"You didn't tell me that part, young lady." Pride put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

The redhead flinched. "Father, he didn't hurt me," she repeated.

Roy's jaw dropped at her remarks before his eye twitched. "T-that... bastard!"

Jumping under the Führer's hand, she nervously reached to undo the bandage on her left hand- the one that had the deeper cuts- and swallowed. "He gave me a present, too," Rosette said quietly.

The state alchemist continued to glower, wondering how much more the woman would tell him before he grabbed a hold of his gloves again.

Untying the knot, Rosette took a deep breath. "It was a necklace. He said he was going to buy a ring to match, but he didn't want me to impale my hand or swallow my tongue."

"A ring?" Roy echoed. "You mean like an engagement ring?"

"Or a wedding ring," she said, freeing her hand from the bandage and picking off the dried salve from one of the larger cuts.

The older man growled, hating to see the sight of Rosette's cuts. "This has to stop."

"It wasn't my idea to have him chase after me!" Rosette shot back, stung and thinking Roy was blaming her for Envy's ongoing pursuit.

Pride let go of her shoulder with an apologetic rub and took her unbandaged hand in his. "Rosette..."

"Of course I know it wasn't your idea!" Roy snapped back, unable to help himself due to his temper. "But pushing you to the point of unintentional cutting whenever you're scared isn't going to help the situation!"

"It makes me feel..." she paused, looking for the words she wanted. "…safely in control." Rosette knew that sounded lame, so she tried to explain. "Like you and your gloves." The redhead eyed his hands nervously in emphasis.

With a sudden flash of insight, Pride realized that Envy wasn't the only one Rosette was nervous about. "There's a difference there, Rosette."

The young man frowned. "But you're already dealing with enough physical damage as it is... Inducing more isn't going to help the situation." His gloves may have been dangerous but it didn't cause him to hurt himself in the process.

"Roy, he knocked the Führer out last night! He could have done _anything_ he wanted to me and I couldn't have stopped him. The only reason I wasn't hurt was because he feels the same way about my abilities as you do and didn't want me to panic." Rosette swallowed. "I don't want to feel that way ever again."

Pride twitched, and tightened his grip on her hand. "Rosette..." He warned. "You said you weren't scared of him."

The Flame Alchemist growled again. He only wished that he knew where Envy was so that he could kill him and his sister wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

The redhead tried to draw her hand back without success. "Father... I am all too aware that any kindness he shows me, no matter how small it might be, is a _choice_ on his part- not his nature. He-" She paused, trying to find the words she wanted "Is different from the others. Something was denied him, something he needed more than anything else. It twisted him and made him want to lash out in other to make others feel his pain."

"What do you mean by that?" Roy demanded, wondering if she was trying to defend the homunculus.

"I'm saying he hates the others of his kind. I am a tool He's using to piss them off and make them turn on each other." Rosette shrugged. "They hate the idea of our relationship as much- if not more- than you do, Roy."

"Is that supposed to make me want to kill him even less?" the colonel asked. "Because it's not working..."

"I'm saying that I'm not letting my guard down around him. As long as I can cut, he'll stay away." Her lips quirked in a not-quite smile. "He won't have a choice."

Pride let go of her hand only to hug her almost too tightly. "You shouldn't have to ruin your hands just for that."

Roy's eyes narrowed. He definitely agreed with Pride on that note. "I can't let you continue to do this. It's getting too ridiculous. Causing harm to yourself won't make the problem go away."

"Better to myself than to you or Father," Rosette shot back.

"Why does everything have to be on yourself, Rosette?" Roy replied. "You're taking on far too much on your own."

"Because someday I will need something in return, and I don't want to go into universal debt. The more 'credit' I rack up now, the better things will be when- not if- I need them. I need everything I can get when _He_ comes to retrieve me." Her voice was bleak.

"The hell he's taking you!" the colonel snapped before he could stop himself.

Still in her father's arms, she looked at Roy. "He'll kill this city just to get to me, Roy. All of you are bugs in his eyes. I _killed_ him, Brother, and all he did was laugh and kiss me until I couldn't breathe!"

"I highly doubt he'll live after I roast him fifty times over..." Roy growled.

"He moves a lot faster than you do Roy."

"So what do you expect me to do? Let him take you and do whatever he wants to you?" Roy demanded. There was no way he'd let that happen.

"He won't hurt me... for now, anyway. It will buy you time and it might even help, provided he takes me into the snake's den and not his own lair." Rosette sidestepped the question easily.

The Führer cleared his throat quietly. "Rosette you don't have to act as bait." He sounded genuinely concerned about the redhead. "I think based on what you said that we already have time because the homunculus seemed to want only the best for you considering the gift he gave you."

He then stiffened up again upon hearing about the "gift" for the second time. "...What about this gift?" he demanded.

Rosette sighed, realizing that her brother's brain was recircling the earlier subject again- having been told about the necklace but hadn't been able to see it yet. Removing her hand from her 'father's' she rolled over to the side table and picked up the intricate silver necklace with it's center emerald blazing in the light as she held it in her fingers.

Roy was surprised at how expensive the piece looked but was also disturbed at how serious the homunculus seemed to be in terms of winning Rosette over. His eyes only narrowed at the necklace.

Trying to lighten the mood, Rosette gave what she hoped was a smile. "I think _He_ thinks that I have too simple a taste palette, but..." She put the necklace on the table and rolled to her bag, retrieving the bracelet without prompting and placing it next to the necklace. Cocking her head, she studied them. "From a distance they match, it's not until you are close that you see the necklace's detail."

Pride made a slightly strangled noise. "This is hardly-!"

"How many gifts has he given you?" the colonel asked, his voice almost dropping into a growl.

"Just the necklace, but he picked out the bracelet- paid for lunch that day too- occasionally he'd bring me flowers, but I don't know if you'd count that," Rosette replied, looking puzzled. "Why?"

"When he was posing as "Mark'?" Pride pressed.

"Yes, I picked out a watch for him too that day, but I don't know if he still wears it. I was a bit distracted last night..." Her eyes clouded at the memory.

Roy shook his head. "He must be really invested in you for him to spend so much money," he commented.

"I don't know about that..." Pain flashed across her face. "It was only a cover until _He_ told me what he really was. It was just orders, most likely." Bitterness leaked in her voice before she could stop it.

"That bastard..." Roy growled. He didn't like the tone in her voice one bit.

"Excuse me, I need a drink." Before Roy could stop her, she fled the room and into the small kitchenette.

The Flame Alchemist ran a hand though his hair. "She's not used to running away... maybe the cutting was more than she let on... I think she's almost at the breaking point."

Pride frowned at this news. He knew that Roy knew what he was talking about. "We have to prevent her from completely breaking then," he stated.

"Drop the Alchemy exam. She won't be in the Army officially; I only got her in to allow her to work at the Central library after it's rebuilt. My sister isn't cut out for Army life," Roy said. "Rosette doesn't have it in her to hurt people."

The homunculus fell silent for a few moments, thinking over a few ideas in his head before replying. "Even so, she needs to know the basics of alchemy and at least _attempt_ to follow the rules." He paused again. "If she becomes a state alchemist, no one can say that she's kissing up to other officers. Everyone would have to treat her like an equal and it prevents another Mark episode."

"You were the one who threw them together," Roy growled quietly.

Pride suppressed a sigh. "I was thinking more about the time when an officer dislocated Rosette's arm."

Roy's growl subsided into a grumble. "I know she doesn't look for trouble, but it seems to love her a great deal..." He thought about this. "Make her take a day or two off every week."

The Führer nodded. "Done," he replied. "I would prefer it if she got more rest anyways."

When Rosette returned, she had a plate of sliced apples... and a fresh cut on her finger. "You need to go shopping Roy, I'm eating the last apple." She said.

Roy glared at her. "You need more than that."

Pride stood in silence, listening to the two argue for a few moments as he took note of the cut on her finger. Once the two took a moment's pause, he cut in. Seeing that she only had an apple, he questioned, "Are you unable to eat because of your nerves?"

Rosette looked surprised, but reluctantly nodded. "Apples don't burn as much and I ate all the bread already."

The Flame Alchemist glared at Rosette. "I knew you ate it all..." He muttered. "Melons are better than apples; they are mostly water."

"I don't want to fall in again!" She shot back. "Small person, small bladder!"

The homunculus could only raise his eyebrow at the small exchange between the two.

"Not my fault you don't look!" Roy stole a piece of apple the Führer had forgotten about.

"I shouldn't have to! You should have more than enough manners to put it back the way it was," Rosette replied, moving her plate away while nibbling on another piece herself. "Anyway, what's the plan for the afternoon?"

Pride thought to himself for a few moments more before suggesting, "First, we should get you something else to eat. Then I would suggest getting you new clothing."

"I have clothes already, and food won't stay down right now," she protested.

Despite her protests, King Bradley reached into his front pocket and pulled out his wallet before taking out some money and handing it to the colonel. "Be sure to get her something that will make her happy."

Roy's eyes widened, but he took the money without comment. "I know just what to get," Roy replied, pushing his little sister out of the room.

As soon as the two left, Pride's eye narrowed. Envy was going to face his wrath once he got his hands on him. Unable to contain his burning rage, he pulled out his sword and looked towards the old couch. Without much effort, he sliced through the couch through the center, completely splitting it in half.


End file.
